Love made of which emotions tell us is only unique
by BrieofAmestria
Summary: After Al being kidnapped Ed goes through a small depression and becomes the bordest person ever, then Winry comes to visit and anything but boring happens.
1. Chapter 1

Ed walked along to the park with Al. He was Al's legal guardian now since Ed was 18 and Al only 13. Ed flipped out his new sliver pocket watch.

"It's getting late, Al. We should head home soon." Ed informed his brother.

"It is? Too bad." Al said. "Should we head back now? So we can get to food shopping?"

"Yeah, come on." Ed said. They started walking home. When they got to the outside of the apartment building Ed threw the keys to the apartment to Al. Al caught them, but looked up at his brother curiously.

"I'm gonna go shopping now, hold down the fort." Ed laughed. Al smiled and nodded. Ed started walking down the street. Al entered the building. He headed up the stairs. Al opened the apartment door slowly and entered. He shut the door quietly behind him and sighed. This had been a rather long day, he was finally _offically_ enrolled into a private school Ed had so kindly looked up for him. Ed didn't allow Al to come with him on missions anymore and wanted Al to make more friends since he was back to normal now. Private schools were better than the public schools they had back in Resembool, so Ed allowed Al to actually go to school. Plus, Ed was afraid he wouldn't be able to fund two personal teachers and take care of him and Al. Paying $1000 a month for Al to go to a private school was easier than 10X the price once a week. They still had a few thousand dollars left over even with paying for rent, Winry's personal teacher, the private school, and food, etc. Al had written it down on a list for Ed, to make in easier on him. It went kind of like this:

_Rent: $800 a month_

_Private School: $1000 a month_

_Personal Teacher:$80000 a month_

_Food and Electricity: about $1600 a month_

_Ed gets paid:$800000 a month_

_Leftover: around $716600 a month_

This was really just made to keep Ed on track and not to have stress overflow him. Al worried about that constantly. Al walked into the kitchen. He gasped, it was completely destroyed. Al felt something blunt hit the back of his head then it went black.

Ed pulled out the list that Al had made him. It helped a lot actually. Ed loved his brother more than anything, Ed's world revolved around two people, Al and Winry. Ed was walking home with the food. He'd bought the essentials: Butter, milk, bread, etc, etc. Ed opened the apartment door.

"Al! I'm ba-" Ed yelled, but stopped. The apartment was in ruins. Ed dropped the food. "Al!" He ran around the room looking for his little brother. "AL!" he yelled, but he was nowhere to be found. "Al...Where are you?" He said. Ed noticed a note taped to the wall.

It was a ransom. It read:

_If you want you're brother back come to the back alley behind H.Q at midnight tonight with $500000 or you're brother dies. -M.O.B.O.E_

"Dammit! I can't leave that kid alone for five minutes! Shit...Where am I going to get $500000 tonight? If they discover me without a ransom we'll both die..." Ed thought for a minute. "I guess I'll have to ask Colonel Shithead for a loan." Ed sighed. He looked at the clock. It said 8:52p.m. "Better get going." Ed locked the apartment door and ran to H.Q.

At H.Q.,

Ed walked in the front doors calmly.

"Hi, Ed!" Lora greeted him happily. Ed waved to her. He came here often for his paycheck, though he demanded to be paid in cash. Lora dialed Colonel Mustang's office.

"Yes?" Mustang picked up the phone.

"Ed's here." Lora told him.

"Alright." He sighed. He hung up.

"Who was that?" Hawkeye asked.

"Lora, she said Ed was here...I wonder why.." Mustang thought. Ed thought about how he would ask the Colonel. _I guess I could just be blunt and ask him for $400000...I can pay him back at the end of the month... _Ed opened the Colonel's doors.

"Hey, Ed." He said.

"I got something to ask you, Colonel Mustang." Ed said firmly.

"Odd, you're actually being respectful, Fullmetal." He said suspiciously. "What is it?"

"I need $400000." Ed told him. Mustang nodded as he drank some coffee.

"Bye when?" He asked.

"Now." Ed demanded. Mustang choked on his coffee.

"What? Why?" He yelled. Ed rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh..I need something I can't afford currently and I need it tonight." Ed told him nervously.

Mustang and Hawkeye looked at each other. "I can pay it back in few weeks."

"What do you need so badly?"

"Uh...Can I just have the money?" Ed asked. He was getting impatient. It was almost 10. Hawkeye noticed Ed peering at the clock constantly. She bent down to Mustang's ear.

"I think he really needs this, you should give it to him now and hound him later." Hawkeye whispered to him. Mustang nodded. He pulled some money out his wallet. Ed walked to Mustang and took the money.

"Thanks." Ed said and left. He hurried to the post office to buy an envelope. He stuffed the cash inside and waited for midnight to roll around. Then he hurried to H.Q. He hid in the alley behind it. Ed waited for them. Ed sat on the ground in the dark space. He heard footsteps approaching him. He stood ready to fight. There were three guys. Two of them held a gun and the third held a knife to Al's throat.

"Al!" Ed yelled. Al looked to see his brother. Al's face was covered with bruises and a few scratches. Ed was pissed. "What did you do?" He yelled at them.

"Hand over the money and you get you're brother." One said. Ed held out he envelope. They took it and threw Al into Ed. Ed swung his brother behind him then transmuted spikes onto his right fist. Ed ran at the guy's with guns first. They turned and shot, but missed both times. Ed grabbed the barrel of one and crushed it easily with his right hand. He let go then took his right fist and struck the newly unarmed guy across the face. He fell onto the ground and held his bleeding face. Ed rammed his right fist into the other gunned man's stomach and twisted his fist. Finally Ed ran toward the guy with the knife. He slammed his right foot into the guy's crotch. Ed turned back to the first guy and ripped the envelope out of his hand. He turned to Al. He was unconscious on the ground.

"Al!" He yelled and ran to him. Ed checked him out. He had a large bump on the back of his head and forehead along with a bunch of cuts and bruises on his face. Ed smiled as a wave of relief swept over him. He picked his younger brother up and threw onto his back. He carried Al inside H.Q. Ed planned on returning to money immediately before Mustang could hound him about anything.

Inside H.Q.,

Lora wasn't at the front desk anymore. He read a sigh posted there. It said: _Be back in a jiff! _Ed laughed. He opened the front door the Mustang's office slowly. Everyone looked up at Ed. A few of them gasped at Al's unconscious body. Ed walked up to Mustang and threw the envelope at him.

"What...?" Mustang muttered. "Is that, Alphonse?"

"Turns out I didn't need it." Ed laughed. He left with Al still on his back. Ed walked home like this.

At the apartment,

Ed opened the apartment door. He took Al into the bathroom and set him on the floor gently. He grabbed some scissors out of the drawer and cut off Al's shirt. Nothing there. He grabbed some disinfectant from the space under the sink and some cotton balls. Ed dipped the cotton balls in the disinfectant and dabbed it gently on Al's face. Ed sighed.

"How did you get yourself beat up this badly?" He murmured. Once he finished he put a band-aid on each of the large cuts. He smiled at his younger brother who resembled him so much, yet not. His dark-blond hair was dirty and his golden-brown eyes remained closed as he slept. His face was young. Like a thirteen year old's should be. Ed picked him back up and took him to his room. It was actually the only room not destroyed. Ed set him gently in his bed and pulled the blankets up to his neck. Ed ran silently to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. He ran back to Al's room and set it on his forehead. Ed smiled and headed into the main room. He started cleaning. Once he was finished he headed to the kitchen to clean that room, then the bathroom, then his own room. That was all the rooms in their small apartment: the main room, kitchen, bathroom, Ed's room, and Al's room and a small closet, but it's just a closet. Ed walked to the front door and locked it. He locked all the windows even though they were on the fourth floor then turned off all the lights. Ed headed to his room and tore off his shirt (not literally). He fell into his bed then.

"That silly boy almost died because I left him alone..." Ed told himself. He fell asleep, though, a few minutes later.

That morning,

Ed opened his eyes sleepily. He took out his sliver pocket-watch. It said it was about 6:30 a.m. Ed sighed.

"Time to report..I guess." He mumbled Ed sat up. Then he remembered last night. He burst into Al's room. Al had rolled over and the ice pack laid on the floor. Ed sighed with relief. "Good." He said. It was Friday, but he decided he would let Al stay home.

"After last night..How can I make him go to school?" Ed asked himself. He walked into the kitchen and looked into the fridge. He took out a carton of eggs. "Oh, yeah. That's right I have to go shopping again for food tonight." Ed said as he pulled a pan out of a cupboard under the counter. He took out an extra stick of butter out the fridge and rubbed it on the pan. He turned the stove on set the pan on it. Ed walked into the main room then and grabbed a book from a nearby bookshelf. He walked back to the kitchen and started reading it. It was an advanced alchemy book. He'd read it before, but Al hadn't and he still wanted to learn more about alchemy in his free time so Ed bought more and more alchemy books for him. Ed put the book down and glanced at the pan. It seemed ready to have eggs thrown onto it. Ed playfully cooked eggs for Al while he slept. Then he made some for himself. Ed set the eggs on a plate and put them on the other end of the table where Al usually sat. Whoever woke up first in the morning would wake the other up at 6:30, but today Ed decided there was no need since Al wouldn't be going to school today. When Ed finished his food he washed the dishes and started reading again in the great room. He laid on the couch and waited for Al to wake. He didn't like leaving for work before Al woke up and nobody really cared unless he wasn't there by 10:00 which was late for Ed who usually got there by 8:00a.m. It didn't really matter when Ed got there. Ed read the book laying down, upside-down, on his head, on the floor, etc, etc. Finally he finished it at 8:00a.m (Ed's a rather fast reader). He sighed. "Ha, kid must be tired!" Ed laughed. He smiled and checked in on his brother again. Still sleeping. Ed sat on the end of Al's bed and watched him sleep. Ed's long blond hair was tied back, unlike his brother's which he got cut once every six months, and Ed's deep golden eyes were kind and friendly like his brother's but also tough and strong. This trait was unlike his brother's which were also forgiving and concerned. Ed smiled. He stood and walked up next to his brother. "I think as a treat today, I'll take you to work with me..." Ed told him. Al's face stayed relaxed and asleep. Ed rubbed his brother's head. He left the room silently. Ed walked into the bathroom. He took off his outer shirt and grabbed a jar of polishing oil out of the drawer next to the sink. He put some on a dry cloth nearby and rubbed his arm down with it. He smiled at how nice his arm looked, then he put it back and threw the cloth into a laundry basket outside the bathroom. He put his shirt back on and walked into his room. He grabbed his wallet and looked to see how much money was in there. About $2000. Ed shoved his wallet into his pocket and looked for a pen and paper. He wrote a note for Al. It said:

_Al, I've gone to purchase some items of interest, stay here, DO NOT GO ANYWHERE. I'll be back soon. -Brother_

"Should be fine." He said and tacked it onto the inside of the front door. He left and headed off to a local bookstore.

Ed opened the front door and a bell jingled. He headed straight to the alchemy section of the store. He looked for a book that Al hadn't read yet, it was kind of like a scavenger hunt. He finally found three that looked like they may hold interest for him. Ed held onto those. They were expensive,(about $100 a piece) but he'd do anything for his younger brother. Ed walked up casually to the cashier. He purchased the books and left. Ed looked at one and started reading it. It was one he had read, but never bothered to buy. Ed had read most of the alchemy books in that place, because he had so much free time, but Al hadn't because of school, so the books Ed bought from there were usually ones he had already read. Ed unlocked the front door and entered the apartment. It looked the same as it had before. The note he'd posted was still on the door. He took it down and crumpled it up. He threw it on the floor carelessly. Ed walked into Al's room. He was still asleep. Ed set the books beside Al's bed and left quietly. Ed laid on the couch in the main room. He was officially bored. "Ugh..." He said. _Maybe I should call Winry...No, she'd be in school right now...Rose? Nah, she has a baby to take care of...Teacher? Ha! What would I say? I'm so bored... _Ed thought. He got up and grabbed another book from the bookshelf. He started reading it. _I've read this book..._He didn't care though, he was doing something. Ed finished it at 11:00. He threw it on the floor noisily. He sat there for a minute. "Bored again..." He said blankly. Suddenly the phone rang. "Yay! Something to do!" Ed said happily as he skipped to the phone. He picked it up. "Hello?"

_"Is this the Elric resident?"_ A woman asked.

"Is that you Hawkeye?" Ed asked.

_"Edward?" _Hawkeye asked.

"Yup."

_"Why are you late?"_

"I don't recall having to be there at a specific time"

_"You don't I was just seeing if you were alright. You're usually here by 8."_

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Al the wake up..."

_"Al?"_

"Yeah. He's fine, though, so don't worry."

_"Alright. Be here soon." _Hawkeye told him.

"Sure." Ed said and hung up. He sighed. "Sorry, Al. Time to wake up." Ed walked into Al's room and sat on his bed heavily. Al turned his head toward Ed. "Wake up, Al."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up." He mumbled sleepily. Al looked out the window. "I'm late!" He said and got up quickly. He pulled off his pants and looked through his drawers for a clean uniform."You don't have to go to school today, Al." Ed told him. Al looked at Ed curiously.

"Is it a holiday?"

"No, It's...just that I'm sorry...about last night...and I wanted to make it up to you." Ed said sadly. He blamed himself for what happened to Al. Al looked at Ed, confused.

"It's not your fault, brother." Al told him.

"It is and I'm going to make it up to you," Ed pointed at the books on the floor "I bought you some books you haven't read." Al looked over the covers of them happily.

"And I'm offering you the option to stay here or come to work with me today." Ed said apologetically. Al looked at his brother with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

"I'm defiantly coming with you. I'm not going to let you be a jerk to anyone anymore." Al laughed. Ed smiled at his brother.

"Get dressed! I have to leave soon!" Ed yelled at him. Al jumped and got dressed quickly. "Now go eat the breakfast I slaved over the stove to make for you!" He ordered. Al looked at his brother disbelievingly.

"_You _made breakfast?" Al asked. He laughed. Ed pouted.

"I did! Now go eat it!" Ed yelled at him. Al walked into the kitchen laughed, but he did eat the eggs Ed cooked for him. When Al finished he put the dishes in the sink and began washing them. Ed grabbed Al wrist.

"We have to go!" Ed said and dragged Al out the door.

"What's the hurry, brother?" Al asked once they were out on the street. Ed let go of his brother.

"None. I was just being impatient." Ed said. "Come on slow poke, lets go already!"

"Alright, I'm coming!" Al said as he followed Ed.

Ed and Al walked side-by-side down the street. Ed was sadly only an inch taller than Al. What made it even sadder was that Ed was six years older than him. Al noticed one of his teachers from the private school. Al's teachers were only harsh around students, so Ed never really got to see any of the teachers being jerks. Al was afraid of his teacher, so he hid behind Ed childishly. Ed stopped walking and turned halfway to his brother.

"What's got you so scared?" Ed asked him. He still tried to look at his brother. Al pointed ahead of them at his teacher. Ed looked at her. "You're afraid of her?" Ed laughed.

"Hello, Mr. Elric." The woman said as she stopped to chat with him.

"Hello, Mrs. Jeanson." He greeted her and smiled. Mrs. Jeanson noticed Al cowered behind Ed.

"Is that Alphonse?" She asked.

"Yeah, I figured since we didn't get home 'till about 1a.m last night and he's been going to school on time and frequently I would let him stay home today." Ed explained.

"Your his guardian Mr. Elric. You shouldn't be so loose." Mrs. Jeanson said firmly. Then walked away briskly. She didn't know that Ed and Al were brothers. Which was strange she hadn't figured it out yet since they looked so much alike. Nobody in the school except Al's friends knew that Ed was a State Alchemist. None of Al's friends had met Ed though, or really believed he was a State Alchemist. Ed scoffed.

"What a bitch. I was just letting you have a break from school." Ed said angrily.

"Now you know why I don't like her." Al sighed. They headed for Central H.Q again.

At H.Q finally,

Ed opened the doors and waved to Lora, she waved back at the two boys.

"Ed." She said.

"Yeah?"

"Shouldn't you're brother be in school?"

"I was just giving him a break today. He's been going non-stop." Ed said happily. Lora looked at Ed kindly. She knew Ed was a kind boy, most other people didn't, most other people (except Ed's closest friends and the people he saw everyday) didn't even know Ed had a younger brother. Lora called Mustang and warned him Ed was here. Ed opened Mustang's door and entered. Al followed him. Al smiled at Fury and the others.

"Hey, Fullmetal." Mustang greeted Ed.

"Hey, Colonel Shithead, what's up?" Ed remarked. Mustang looked over at Al.

"Shouldn't Alphonse be in school?"

"I gave him a break today." Ed explained for the third that day. Hawkeye looked suspiciously at the boys. She noticed Al was bruised on his face and had a few band-aids on his face as well.

"Did you get abused or something by Ed last night, Al?" Fury joked.

"No!" Al laughed.

"What happened then?" Mustang asked. Ed rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Nothing, he just got beat up at school for being nice." Ed laughed. Nobody was convinced, Al wouldn't have been able to be beat up at school, he's fought criminals and won without a scratch so being beaten up by a kid was out the question.

"I don't think that's what happened." Hawkeye intervened. "Why did you ask the Colonel for money last night, Ed?"

"You actually got that money? Why did you do that? You could've kicked their asses easy, brother!" Al yelled. Everyone stared at Ed, waiting for an answer.

"I returned the money later that night so whats the problem?" Ed asked.

"The problem is that something happened to you two last night and you won't tell us." Hawkeye said briskly.

"Why are you reluctant to tell them, brother? It happened right behind this building." Al added. Ed put a hand on his hip.

"Because it's none of their damn business." Ed said.

"If it involves one of you getting hurt then it is." Mustang said loudly. Ed had been broken. He sighed then spilled it.

"Last night, when I left Al alone at the apartment he was kidnapped and they asked for a ransom they said if I didn't get the ransom to them they would murder Al. I thought that if I showed without the ransom and ended up getting my ass kicked they would kill us both, but Al's fine and I got the money back to you, so it's alright." Ed said quickly. They were shocked. Ed doubting his own skills? Asking for stuff? Al kidnapped? This was all very confusing for them.

"Al got kidnapped?" Mustang asked.

"You weren't arrogant for a second enough to think you could kick their asses easy?" Al asked. Truthfully he was proud of his brother for not being cocky for a little while. They all laughed at that last remark. Ed didn't though. Al being kidnapped...it still lingered in his mind. _What if he gets kidnapped again and I don't make it? _Ed thought. Al noticed his brother wearing a depressed look on his face as Ed imagined him not making it in time to save Al from his death. _I'm going to make it up to him._

"Where do you want to go, Al?" Ed asked him suddenly. Everyone jumped at Ed's sudden joyfulness. Al looked at his brother curiously.

"I don't know..." Al said. He didn't really care either as long as he was with Ed.

"Let's go buy you some more alchemy books." Ed said and left the room. Al stood there, confused. They were all confused, except Hawkeye who had already figured out what was going on. Ed peeked his head in and looked at Al. "You coming?" He asked. Al nodded happily and ran after his brother. Hawkeye sighed. They all looked at her.

"Poor Ed." She said.

"What?" Mustang asked.

"Edward feels guilty about Al being kidnapped and is trying to make it up to him." Hawkeye explained. Mustang looked at Hawkeye.

"I guess your 'woman's intuition' shows again." Mustang said proudly.

"What should we do?" Fury asked.

"Well, if so, Ed will just keep letting Al follow him and do whatever he wants. Don't you think we should stop that?" Havoc asked.

"Probably." Mustang said. "Move out!" Mustang's party headed out the door and to the local alchemy bookstore. Hawkeye sighed as she followed them. Mustang's all about protecting Edward and Alphonse. That was his goal. Though, Mustang is an idiot, so he usually needs Hawkeye to set him straight. This time they had nothing to do though, so Hawkeye let them go on with this.

At the alchemy bookstore,

Ed and Al entered the bookstore Ed had gone into earlier that day.

"Brother, do you blame yourself for me being kidnapped?" Al asked him. Ed looked at one of the books he was holding. He showed it to Al.

"You've read this right?" He asked. Al sighed and sat on the floor. He didn't enjoy his brother spoiling him.

"Why don't we go do something that doesn't involve you spoiling me." Al suggested. Ed took a few books to the cashier and purchased them. He held out a hand to Al.

"Come on. We're leaving." He said. This seemed normal enough. Al stood up and they started walking for the apartment. Once they were there Ed set the books up on the bookshelf of stuff Al hadn't read. It was significantly smaller than the giant bookshelf in Ed's room that had all their alchemy books that they've both read on it. It was in Ed's room purely because Al usually didn't read the same book twice and Ed did.

"Brother?" Al said sadly.

"Yeah?" Ed replied.

"Would you stop this? It wasn't your fault." Al said. Ed just kept organizing the books.

Mustang let his men search the bookstore for them. Havoc ran up to Mustang.

"Not here, sir!" He reported. Mustang though seriously for a minute.

"To their apartment!" Mustang said. They walked down the street towards Ed and Al's apartment.

Back at the apartment again,

Al walked up to his brother and grabbed his shoulder to support himself. Ed turned.

"Yeah?" He asked. Al looked sick. "What wrong, Al?"

"I don't feel so well..." Al muttered. Ed was concerned. He took Al's hand and led him out of the apartment. Al stopped and sat on the ground outside of the apartment building.

"Are you okay, Al?" Ed asked. Al walked over to a nearby trashcan and vomited into it. "Al!" Ed yelled. Al sat back down on the ground. Ed's eyes narrowed. He picked Al up and put him on his back. He carried Al to the hospital from there.

"Brother, Why do you feel like you're the one to blame?" Al asked.

"Because I left you alone at the apartment when I should have had you come with me." Ed replied devotedly.

"It's alright. Neither of us knew that the apartment would be robbed. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is! Now just up or you'll end up puking on me." Ed said.

"Alright." He agreed. Al covered his mouth quickly.

"You better not vomit on me!" Ed yelled. Al smiled and nodded.

At the hospital,

Ed and Al waited in, of course, the waiting room. Ed had already told the receptionist that his brother had been vomiting, but since in wasn't all that concerning, they brushed it off and told them to wait. Al was sitting in the chair silently holding his stomach while Ed was leaning his head against the wall blaming himself for all this.

"Brother." Al said.

"What?" Ed asked. He didn't look up.

"None of this is your fault." Al told him. Ed didn't respond. A doctor finally came out.

"Alphonse?" He asked. Ed and Al stood. Al walked toward the doctor with Ed following closely. The doctor led Ed and Al into a room and they did a few simple tests on Al, the ones you'd get normally if you went to the doctors. Al sat in a chair while Ed stood staring at a chart nearby. The doctor turned to them.

"You have a little food poisoning is all. Some undercooked eggs I suppose." He said. Al glared at Ed, who was pretending he didn't hear anything.

"Oops..." Ed muttered. Al just turned back to the doctor angrily.

"We'll need to give you just a poke." He said happily. Sweat started dripping down Ed's forehead. Al just nodded sadly. Ed slowly made his was as far away from Al as possible. That was the one this Ed was afraid of other than losing close friends, shots. Al smiled at the nurse, she smiled back as she poked Al with the shot in his right arm. Al turned to Ed when it was done.

"This reminds me of that time we went to Aquroya." Al said. "You remember, you got food poisoning too and you had to get a shot, but you totally freaked out and threatened to turn us all into fish!" Al laughed. Ed glared at him.

"Shut up!" Ed yelled. Al still laughed quietly. Ed and Al left then. They walked to the apartment happily, as everything was back to normal. Ed and Al were laughing when they entered the apartment, but stopped when they saw everything in ruins again.

"Ah!" Al screamed "We've been robbed again!" Ed walked in and started picking stuff up angrily and Al helped. Ed walked into his room to see if anything was missing. He saw several people in there. Six to be exact. They all wore blue uniforms.


	2. Puperty, destruction, and Winry

"What the hell are you doing?" Ed yelled as one of them picked up a pair of his boxers. It was, obviously, Breda, Havoc, Fury, Falman, Hawkeye, and most of all Mustang. Although Hawkeye wasn't really doing anything, she was really standing by the door watching them all be idiots. Al ran to Ed. "What are doing here?" Ed yelled again.

"We were searching for you and Al." Fury said.

"In my dresser?" Ed was pissed, as he usually is.

"Well, it started like that, but we got side tracked by all the alchemy books and...wow you really do have a lot." Havoc tried to explain.

"AH! GET OUT!" Ed demanded. They all left mumbling to each other. Ed slammed the door behind them. "AH! Look what they did to my books! They're all unorganized and messy!" Ed yelled. He was very precise about his books. Al opened the fridge.

"They took food to." He said as he pointed out their vacant fridge. Ed groaned angrily and started cleaning again, Al pitched in to. It took them about two hours to clean their house again and for Ed to organize his books. Ed and Al collapsed onto the couch. Ed stood again, though.

"Come on, Al." He said. Al stood.

"Where are we going?"

"To the market. We have to buy more food." Ed sighed. Al nodded his head tiredly.

"We should catch a taxi this time." Al suggested.

"Go idea." Ed concluded and they left. Ed made sure to lock the door behind them.

After shopping and back at the apartment,

Ed and Al each carried two large paper bags up the stairs. Ed reached into his pocket for the key and unlocked the door. Their house was just as they had left it for once. Al stocked the fridge while Ed checked to see if Mustang had taken anything. They hadn't thankfully. Al walked up to Ed who was lounging on the couch lazily. Al sat at his feet since Ed wasn't long enough to reach the other end.

"Brother?" Al asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Ed didn't even open his eyes.

"Have you ever had sex?" Al said nervously. Ed laid there.

"Yeah."

"Really? I had no idea, I though you were just like me." Al said surprised.

"What? What 18 year old hasn't had sex?" Ed sat up. Al shrugged his shoulders. Ed pulled out his pocket-watch. It magically told him that it was late.

"Night, Al." Ed said as he got up.

"You're going to bed?" Al asked, he stood as well.

"Yeah, it's almost midnight and I'm exhausted." Ed said. Al hadn't even realized it was that late.

"It's _that _late?" Al asked. Ed nodded and walked into his room.

"'Night, Al." He said and shut his door. Al smiled.

"'Night brother." He said and lingered into his room as well. Al took his shirt off and laid down. He looked at the ceiling. "Silly, bro. Always giving, but never taking on purpose."

That morning,

Al woke up early that morning. He could tell by the moist feeling in the air and how faded everything outside seemed. He got up and pulled the shiny pocket-watch that Ed had bought for him awhile ago out of his pocket. It said it was around 6a.m. Al stumbled into the bathroom sleepily. Ed was obviously not awake yet since he didn't hear yelling, singing, or loud crashing sounds. It occurred to Al that when Ed first wakes up if he didn't get enough sleep he unknowingly sings until he's fully awake now for some odd reason Al was afraid to ask of. Al splashed water onto his face. He looked into the mirror above the sink. He noticed something strange. A large red bump was in the middle of Al's forehead. He stared at it.

"What's that?" He mumbled. He poked it, it was greasy and stung. Al burst into Ed's room. "Brother!" He yelled. Ed sat up quickly and transmuted his right arm into a dagger.

"What is it, Al?" He yelled. He looked at Al quickly, now awake.

"There's something weird on my head!" Al yelled. Ed sighed and transmuted his arm back to normal. He stood and walked over to Al. He peered at the bump.

"It's a zit." He said and started looking through a box at the end of his bed.

"A zit?" Al asked curiously.

"Yeah, you get them when you start going through puberty." Ed said blankly.

"Did you get them?"

"Sometimes." Ed said as he found what he was looking for.

"How do you get rid of them?" Al asked. Ed threw a white bottle at Al. He caught it.

"Use that. Wash your face with a dot of it every night and you won't get pimples."

"Pimples? I thought they were zits?"

"Same thing." Ed said impatiently. "You can borrow that, I still need some to."

"You still get zits?"

"Well, they never really go away, they just become more rare as you mature."

"Oh." Al was taken back. He'd never seen a zit on Ed's face ever...or Winry's.

"Jeez, that's common since, Al. You should ask your teachers about this stuff more often. That's why I sent you to such a good school."

"How come you and Winry never get any?"

"We wash our faces almost every night." Ed explained. "Go wash up. I got to go soon." Al nodded and ran to the bathroom. He quickly scrubbed his face with a small amount of the stuff. Al looked at his face. It wasn't gone yet. He washed his face again. It still wasn't gone. He did it again. Still not gone. Al screamed.

"What are you doing, Al?" Ed asked from outside the door.

"Brother, it's not leaving!"

"Yeah, you'll have to live with it for a few days." Ed told him. Al looked at the now half empty bottle.

"I wish you'd told me earlier." Al mumbled. He stepped out of the bathroom and walked to his room and put a clean shirt on. Ed was still in his boxers. "Why are you undressed?"

"I was waiting for you, Al." Ed said. It occurred to Al that his older brother still needed that stuff even more than himself possibly. Al started to think about how Ed still looked around a normal sixteen year old even though he should be looking more like a man now since he had escaped from "puberty" as Ed called it.

Ed walked into his room and examined his chin.

"Nothing..." Ed muttered angrily. He pulled on some clean pants and shirt. He shoved his stunted feet into his platform shoes of which he'd had since he was 12 and walked out to the main room. He stood by the door and waited for Al. He waited and waited and waited. Finally he got fed up with waiting and burst into Al's room.

"Lets go!" He yelled. Al had been poking at that damn zit for half hour. Al blushed.

"Sorry, brother!" He said and followed his brother to the door. They left for H.Q then.

At H.Q,

Ed walked in the front door. He thought about Al _finally _making the first step into puberty. _Jeez, soon he'll be asking be about body hair...ugh.._ Ed shuddered at the thought.

"Cold, brother?" Al asked. Ed looked at Al.

"Nope, fine." He said as he opened Mustang's door. Nobody was there. Ed smiled mercilessly.

"What are you thinking, Ed?" Al asked. Ed turned to Al still smiling."Let's destroy this place!" Ed laughed. Al stared at his brother wide-eyed.

"Why?"

"Well, the Colonel's so annoying I figure he deserves it, he destroyed our house and anyway we can fix whatever we break so no problem." Ed explained. Al stood by the door while Ed destroyed stuff happily.

"Ha! I've been needing to let my anger out!" He yelled excitedly. Al sighed.

Al peeked out and saw Mustang at the other end of the hall.

"Ed! He's back! Let's go!" Al whispered. Ed nodded and opened the window. Ed left a note on the desk. Then he jumped out, Al followed. They ran around the other side of the building where Mustang couldn't see them.

Mustang walked into his office. His mouth dropped.

"Wh- Why- NO!" He yelled. Hawkeye stood behind him. Mustang noticed something on his desk. He ran to it. It read: _You wreck my house, I destroy you're office. _

"I told you not to go into their apartment. They'll always get you back someway and worse." Hawkeye said impatiently.

In the apartment,

"I hope they don't fire me for destroying someones office." Ed said.

"I don't think the Colonel would fire you for that, after all he did wreck this place." Al told him confidently. Ed nodded. The brothers hung around the apartment for awhile, reading, playing board games, etc, etc. Eventrully something "exciting" happened: the phone rang. Ed ran to it.

"Hello!" He asked. Something had finally happened.

"_Ed?" _A girl asked.

"Winry?"

_"Hey, Ed!" _She said. Ed smiled.

"Hi. What's up?"

"_I was wondering if I may be able to come down for a visit?"_

"Yeah! Sure!" He said. Something to do!...Something...to do?

_"Great! I'm actually already packed...so I'll be getting on the next train."_

"Okay, see you later." He said and they both hung up. Al looked at his brother excitedly.

"Is Winry coming?"

"Yup." Ed said and flopped back onto the floor. They had been playing poker. Of course, Ed had been winning. Ed stood though, his back had been hurting and he didn't feel like being caught cheating.

"I quit." Ed said as he stretched. Al nodded. They started picking the cards up.

"Hey, brother?" Al asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to sing when you wake up?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You sing sometimes in the morning, didn't you know?"

"No...?"

"Oh...never mind." Al said as he threw the box containing the cards onto the sofa.

Ed sat happily on the sofa thinking of Winry. _I can't wait to see her smiling face and beautiful hair. Her royal eyes and gleaming face...Ah, Winry..._Were his odd thoughts.

"Brother?" Al said.

"Yeah?" Ed replied softly.

"You're creeping me out with the smiling..." Al said as he poked Ed's face. Ed glared at him. Al stopped. He got up slowly and walked over to his bookshelf. He pulled out a book and threw it at Ed's face. He caught easily.

"Have you read that?" Al asked. Ed looked at the inside of the book.

"Yeah, why?" He asked. Al's head fell.

"Throw it to me..." He grumbled. Ed did and walked into his room. He took a book from his shelf that he hadn't read in awhile and sat on his bed. Al walked in.

"Brother?" Al asked. He stood in the doorway.

"Yeah." Ed said, he didn't look up.

"Is tomorrow Monday?" Al asked. Ed nodded.

"You want me to walk you to school?" Ed asked. Al shook his head.

"No, it's alright." He said and left. Ed looked up.

"Hey, Al!" He yelled. His brother came back. "What's wrong?" Ed asked. Al shook his head.

"Nothing." Then walked into his room. Ed shrugged and kept reading.

A loud knock emerged from the apartment door. Al got up. He wondered what his brother was doing, he hadn't left his room in hours. Al opened the door. Winry smiled at him.


	3. Winry arrives and so does school

"Hey, Al!" Winry said and hugged him. Al blushed.

"Hey, Winry!" He said. Winry looked at him. She noticed the zit on his face.

"Stand still." She said. Al watched her reach for his forehead. He felt her squeeze on the zit them wipe it with her finger. She in turn then wiped her finger on Al's shirt. "All gone." She said happily. Al smiled.

"Really?" He said. Winry nodded. She laughed. _Finally..late bloomer I guess, like Ed. _She thought. Al led her inside.

"This is where you guys live? It's a little small, but nicer than I expected." She said kindly. Al nodded. "Where's Ed?" She asked.

"I think he's still in his room. He hasn't come out for hours." Al said. Winry nodded and opened the only closed door in the whole place. She peeked inside. Ed was laying on his bed with a book opened on his chest. His mouth was open and he was sleeping. Al and Winry laughed. She closed his door silently. Al was pulling something large from under his bed. It was a mattress.

"We thought since you always give us a bed to sleep in we would give you one." Al said happily. He ripped the sheets off his bed and put on new ones for Winry. Al pulled the mattress into Ed's room. Winry smiled at Al.

"Thanks, Al." She said. Al looked at her.

"What else could we do? We can't give you anything less than everything you give us!" Al told her. Winry looked at the time on a wall clock Al had put in the main room. It said it was close to 10p.m.

"Don't you have school tomorrow, Al?" Winry asked. Al nodded sadly. "What's wrong?"

Al sat on the mattress. Winry sat next to him. Ed rolled over in his bed.

"Uh...Mm...Theres this girl..." Al said slowly.

"You have a crush on her?" Winry asked. Al looked at her surprised.

"No, she tries to beat me up everyday, but I don't let her because the teachers always say that boys aren't aloud to beat up girls." Al explained. Winry nodded sympathetically.

"Have you asked Ed what he thinks?" Winry asked. Al shook his head.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid that he'll call me weak." Al muttered. Winry was shocked.

"He would never call you that!" She said. Ed looked at the floor. He hadn't realized he was such a horrible older brother. _Sorry, Al. _He thought.

"You should ask him and see what he says." Winry told Al. He smiled.

"Alright." Al said confidently. Winry stood.

"Now go to sleep, you have school tomorrow." She told him. Al nodded. Winry shut off the lights as she left. Al looked out the window. The moon shone down on his young face. Al smiled and fell asleep.

Monday morning,

Al woke up around 6 as he usually did. He sat up. Ed wasn't in bed anymore. Al smiled. He walked out of Ed's room and into the kitchen. Ed was walking around singing a song Al had never heard, of course. It looked like he was attempting to cook something. Stew? Dreaded eggs? Bacon? He was cooking _something _on the stove. Al walked into the bathroom. Al washed his face then used the toilet. As he walked out he smelt smoke. Al calmly walked into the kitchen to see the stove on fire. Ed was looking in the fridge and in the cleaning supplys for baking soda. Al pulled out a box of baking soda from the the huge box they stocked all of the baking soda in. The stove caught on fire frequently due to Ed's lack of responsibility toward cooking. Winry walked into the kitchen to see Ed searching through stuff under the sink and Al pouring baking soda onto the stove.

"What are you doing?" Winry asked. Al smiled.

"The usual morning routine. Ed lights to stove on fire, I put it out." Al said happily.

"Ed lights the stove on fire _every _morning?"

"Well, if he's the first to wake up." Al said as he threw the box into the trash. Ed pulled it out.

"Found it." He muttered. Then realized it was empty and put it back.

"The fires out, brother." Al said.

"Oh. Good job, Al!" Ed said. Ed was wearing only his leather pants that morning. It was different everyday. Sometimes he only remembers to wear his boxers other times he forgets pants, once he was naked. That was one the worst days in Al's life. Today, thankfully, all he forgot was his shirt. Winry looked at Ed curiously.

"Why don't you have a shirt on, Ed?" She asked. Ed yawned.

"Of course I'm wearing a shirt." He said and looked at himself. "Oh...I guess not..." He said and wandered into the bathroom.

"Is he always like that?" Winry asked.

"No, only sometimes when he hasn't gotten enough sleep." Al said. He was cleaning the stove. Winry nodded. Ed came back out of the bathroom. He yawned and stretched then walked into his room. Winry sat on the sofa in the main room while Al changed into his uniform in his room. Ed walked out of his room and sat next to Winry.

"Where's Al?" He asked.

"He's changing in his room. Are you awake now?" She asked. Ed looked at her curiously.

"Yeah..." He said slowly, confused by what she meant.

"Good." She said happily and smiled. Her smiled was the equivalent of an angel's in Ed's mind. She was a goddess and blessed Ed with her presence. He came back to reality though as Al shut his door.

"I got to walk Al to school. I'll be back soon." Ed said as the brothers left.

E.

Ed stared straight ahead while Al wondered when to ask him. Finally a moment came though. Al looked at his brother.

"Ed." He said. Ed stopped and turned his attention to Al.

"Yeah, Al?"

"There's this girl...Whose been trying to beat me up...What should I do?" Al asked. Ed smiled.

"Winry used to do that to me all the time." Ed laughed. Relief struck Al as Ed laughed. "You've told her to stop of course. So...I guess I'll talk to the teachers." Ed smiled at Al. Who was completely dissatisfied. Finally the boys reached Al's school. Ed walked with his younger brother into the school. Suddenly a bunch of boys about Al's age crowded around Al. Ed smiled at Al's popularity. Ed walked around in search of Al's teacher.

"Is that you're brother?" A boy with dark hair asked Al.

"Yeah, that's Ed, Mark." Al confirmed.

"Whose he looking for?" Another kid asked.

"My teacher, Mrs. Jeanson."

"Oh." the kid said. Ed looked at the boys surrounding Al. Al was on the ground suddenly though. Ed ran over to his brother who was on the ground rubbing the back of his head. A young girl stood behind him pointing her finger at him, laughing. Ed was pissed as you could imagine. Ed walked up behind the girl.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked. The girl was rather short. Ed had to be about a foot taller than her. She turned to him.

"Because he's smart." She said. Ed laughed.

"You tried to beat him up because he smarter than you?" Ed laughed. He was holding his stomach he was laughing so hard. The girl crossed her arm and pouted. Al stood. The girl turned back to him and kicked Al in the shin. Al held his shin and glared at the girl.

Ed grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled slightly. She was off balance and couldn't gain control. Ed bent down to her ear."Do not try to beat him up or you'll answer to me." Ed growled. Al's friends looked at the girl. She was absolutely terrified. "Just because the teachers say boys aren't allowed to beat up girls doesn't mean they can't. So watch it." Ed whispered to her. "Understand?" She nodded.

"Go." Ed said as he let her run away. Al looked at his brother.

"What a brat. If she was a boy I would've kicked the crap out of her." Ed sighed.

"What did you say to her?" Mark asked.

"I just told her if she didn't stop bullying Al she would answer to me." Ed said and shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing. Al knew better though. Ed said more than that. One of the boys pulled Ed's silver pocket-watch out of Ed's pocket, though they didn't detach the chain that connected it to Ed's pants.

"Look!" The boy said "It's real! He's a real State Alchemist!" All the other boys crowded around Ed's hip.

"Uh, bye Al. I'll be back later to pick you up." Ed told him as he pushed the boys away from him.

"Where are you going?" One of them asked. Ed looked at them.

"I have to go to work..." He said.

"What? No, stay!" One begged. He seemed much younger than Al. Maybe that's because he wasn't as mature.

"I can't..." Ed tried pulling away, but they were all holding onto his legs. One of the boys noticed that Ed's left leg made a clanging sound as the knee moved.

"What's wrong with your leg?" He asked.

"You! Get off!" Ed yelled, completely annoyed. The stayed. Al was standing a few feet away waiting for Ed to explode and send the kids flying.


	4. Teacher: Mr Elric

The phone rang at the apartment. Winry answered it.

"Hello?" she asked.

_"Is this the Elric resident?" _A woman asked.

"Yes." Winry replied.

"_Who are you?"_

"I'm Winry and you?"

"_Oh, right I remember you. I'm Riza Hawkeye."_

"Oh, Hi Miss Riza, long time no see!"

_"Yeah, Is Ed there?"_

"No he hasn't returned from dropping Al off at school yet."

"_Oh-"_ Hawkeye's voice was cut off.

_"Thank you Miss Winry, we'll fetch him right now." _A man said proudly. The phone hung up. "That's odd." Winry added.

At Al's school,

Ed was on the ground, several boys on top of him. Ed tapped his fingers on the floor angrily.

"Will you stay?" Mark asked.

"No. I have to leave." Ed said.

"Then we won't get up." Mark said. Ed sighed and reached into his pocket. He looked at his watch it said it was close to 10.

"I'm going to be late." Ed said as he tried getting up again. He managed to stand, but they kids still hung onto his legs. "GET OFF!" He yelled. They all cowered, but didn't let go. Ed picked each kid off one by one and flung them in different directions. A person's hand settled onto Ed's shoulder. He looked behind him and he held the last kid in his hand. This teacher was young and a woman. She smiled.

"Are you Edward Elric?" She asked.

"Who wants to know?" Ed asked curiously. The woman squealed.

"Will you give a session in our new alchemy class?" She asked excitedly. Ed was taken back. He hated classes, he much less wanted to teach one. He stared at her blankly.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'!" She said and started dragging Ed upstairs. "Come along, Alphonse, you'd better get to class!" She said as she passed him. Al was still laughing.

Mustang walked into Major Leagues Junior High. He remembered going here when he was small.

"Do you know where Alphonse Elric's class is?" He asked the secretary. She smiled and pointed to the stairs.

"Up the stairs the first on you're right." She told him. Mustang thanked her and walked in that direction.

The woman pushed Ed into the classroom. He looked at her.

"What do you expect me to do?" He asked. She smiled.

"I don't care, just teach them something." She said softly. Ed sighed. He thought for a second then grabbed some chalk.

"You all know what a transmutation circle is, right?" He asked the kids. They all shook their heads. "You don't know what a transmutation circle is? Jeez, what have they been teaching you?" Ed yelled as he drew a simple one on the board. He pointed to it.

"This is the matrix for your transmutation. You need it to flow the energy from you to the object to make it transmute. You need something of equal mass to make it into something else, equivalent exchange as we alchemists call it." Ed drew a circle on the ground. He looked around briefly. "Toss me that globe." he said. A girl threw it to Ed. He put it in the center of the circle and transmuted it into a plastic dollhouse. The children gasped. He held it up and set it back on the floor. He erased the circle with his foot.

"Not all of you will be able to start off very good." Ed pointed to Al. He was sitting in the back. "The first time Al did alchemy, he made a rock into a different shaped rock when he meant to make a snowman." Ed told them. The kids laughed. "But now he can make a horse out of one of you're desks. Not to mention it would be finely detailed and would have the saddle and everything." Ed said proudly. "You need different circles for certain different things." Ed told them. He was about to explain Human Transmutation, but stopped. They might try it right away. He would let the real teacher tell them about that. Ed looked at the clock. It said 11. Ed rubbed his head nervously. He didn't really want to be to late, but this was better than work. They were all listening intently. "Questions?" Ed asked. They all raised their hands except Al who already knew all this. Ed pointed to a girl in the front.

"Who is that dollhouse going to?" She asked. Ed glanced at it.

"You want it?" He asked. She smiled brightly and nodded. "Keep it." He said.

"Thank you!" She gasped. Ed pointed to another child.

"How do you change an object into something else?" He asked. Ed drew a circle on the floor. "Come look." He said. All the children crowded around him. "Give me something. I don't want to destroy the floor." Ed said. A girl gave him a box of pencils. They all watched Ed intently. "You clap your hands." Ed said as he did. "Then press them onto the edge of the circle." Ed demonstrated. "Then think of what you want to transmute and focus on the objects your transmuting."

"A pony!" A girl yelled. Ed shrugged his shoulders. The box of pencils transmuted into a wooden horse with expert detail. They gasped. Ed held the horse.

"Not one of my best but it'll do." Ed said. He handed it to the girl in front of him.

"It this mine?" She asked. Ed stood.

"Sure." He said. "Go sit down, now." He told them. They did as they were told.

"You guys are so much better than I was." Ed laughed. They smiled. "Wanna see something cool?" He asked them. They all shouted "yes". Ed laughed. He picked up a dozen rulers and, his usual way, transmuted it into Mustang.

"Whose that?" A kid asked. Ed looked at it. Then smiled evilly.

"Lets just say its someone who I don't really like." Ed said. He set it on the table. Ed clapped his hands and touched it. The door opened suddenly and Mustang stepped in. Ed looked at him. Mustang stared at the wooden figure of him. It exploded as Ed touched it. All the kids gasped and yelled that it was cool.

"Hey, Mustang." Ed said. He put his hands in his pockets.

"Whose that?" A girl asked. Ed smiled at her.

"The guy I just exploded." He laughed. All the kids did.

"I'm his boss." Mustang told them. Everyone went silent and they looked at Ed.

"Way to ruin the fun Colonel Shi-Mustang." Ed corrected himself before he swore in front of the kids. Mustang laughed.

"Why is your boss here, Mr. Elric?" A boy asked. Ed shrugged his shoulders.

"You usually don't fetch me yourself, bored?" Ed asked.

"Just checking on you, seeing your late." Mustang said firmly. The real teacher sunk into her chair.

"I tried getting their, but some brats were a little clingy." Ed told him. Mustang laughed. The teacher ran up to Mustang.

"Colonel Mustang, do you mind if he stays here the whole day?" She begged.

"Wha-!" Ed yelled.

"I don't mind at all." Mustang said happily. The woman smiled.

"Thank you, sir." She said kindly. Ed gave Mustang the death glare _"Expect the doll to be just a preview..." _It told Mustang. He smiled at Ed and left. Ed's head fell.

"Guess I won't be making my full 200k." Ed said.

"200K! That's what you get paid?" The teacher yelled. Ed nodded. Just then the bell rang and several kids crowded around Ed.

"Give me a break, go play or something." Ed told them. They smiled and nodded obediently. "I'm going to kill Mustang..." Ed mumbled.

"Brother?" Al said. Ed looked at him.

"Yeah, Al?"

"Your screwed." Al laughed.

"Shut it!" Ed growled. Al headed outside for recess with the other children. Ed walked out of the classroom. The teachers stared as he left.

"Where are you going?" the alchemy teacher asked him. Ed turned to her.

"I'm going to go check out the alchemy teaching at the high school." He lied. She nodded. Ed was really going to fetch Winry. He was bored and he thought she would be too.

Ed ran home. He burst through the apartment door. Winry jumped.

"Come on, Winry." He panted.

"What? Where have you been?"

"I...was ordered...to...teach an...alchemy class." He said.

"Teach?"

"Yeah...I have to stay there all day, but I got bored so come on." Ed told her. She shrugged her shoulders. It was better than staying there alone.

At Al's school,

Ed and Winry walked into the school yard where the children were playing.

"Jeez, their so annoying." Ed muttered.

"You think so? I think their just adorable." Winry smiled. A few kids ran up to Ed. These little kids were probably only seven or eight.

"Mr. Elric, will you make something for me?" A little girl asked among the group of children. Ed was surprised, but he didn't mind.

"Sure, what do you want?" He asked. She smiled.

"Really? Your brother said you wouldn't do anything." She said. Ed laughed.

"First things first!" He said. Ed clapped his hands and hit the ground. Al was flung several feet in the air on the other side of the court yard. "So, what did you want?"

"Will you make me a birdie?" She asked. Ed nodded kindly. He did. Ed made it hollow so it would be light. She gasped.

"Wow! Thank you!" She said. Her and another child ran off to play. A boy tugged on Ed's shirt.

"Will you make me a train?" He asked. Ed nodded. He transmuted a train out of the ground. It looked like a real train with see-through window and seats on the inside. The wheels moved and everything.

"Thanks, Mr. Elric!" He said.

"Just call me Ed. 'Mr. Elric' makes me sound old." Ed told them. They nodded and ran to Al. They showed him the train. Winry glanced at Ed. He was smiling. She knew he liked kids that weren't very annoying, like these kids. Winry and Ed sat up against one of the walls of the school.

"Ed?" Winry asked. Ed looked at her.

"Hm?"

"Do you plan on ever visiting me?" Winry asked.

"Of course. I just don't always have time." Ed told her. Winry nodded.

After school and on their way home,

Ed, Al, and Winry walked back to the apartment happily. They were laughing nonstop. They were still laughing went they entered the apartment. Al sat down and looked at his homework. He laughed loudly. Ed and Winry looked at him.

"Whats so funny?" Winry asked. Al shoved his homework at them. They started laughing as loudly as Al was. It was on alchemy. It was questions like what a transmutation circle is and what it's called by alchemists. Al did his homework quickly then sat at the table with his brother while Winry so kindly made them dinner. Once they'd eaten they sat around in the great room and overall had a good time. Although, finally time had to move on and the clock reached 10. Al stood.

"Time for bed..." He sighed. Ed and Winry nodded. Al headed off to Ed's room to sleep.

"I forgot to ask, did you sleep well, Winry?" Ed asked her.

"Yup, Al's bed is really comfortable." She said happily. Ed smiled.

"Good. 'Cause your about to sleep in it again tonight and tomorrow." He said, pointing out the obvious. Winry laughed. They headed into their rooms and laid down.

"Hey, Al." Ed said. Al sat up.

"Yeah?"

"Lets trade beds tonight." He said. Al shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay." They switched quickly. Ed shut his eyes. Al did to and obviously they fell asleep.

Early that morning,

Ed woke up first before Al again. He walked into the kitchen. Winry was cooking eggs.

"Eggs?" Ed asked. "Ha, last time I made eggs Al got food poisoning." Ed laughed.

"Jeez, Ed. You should just give up cooking. You just can't." She told him. Ed still laughed. Winry put two eggs on three plates. Ed and Winry sat across from each other and ate their eggs joyously. Winry started washing dishes. Ed picked up shells and what-nots that Winry had left-over. Al came out of his room and saw them cleaning. He sat and ate his eggs silently, feeling slightly guilty that he couldn't help clean.

"Oh, brother!" Al said as he finished his breakfast.

"Yeah?" Ed replied as he threw the last shell into the trash.

"Miss Lonin wanted me to stay after to join a few other children in the advanced class." Al told him.

"Pht, you should be teaching the class." Ed said proudly. "How long will you be after?"

"Until about 5 p.m." Al said. Ed nodded. "I can walk to school by myself today to."

"Ha, am I an embarrassment?" Ed laughed.

"No, I just don't want you to be late again." Al said as he put on his coat. Ed nodded happily.

"Bye, Al. See you later." Ed said. Al smiled and left.


	5. Fun, an invite, and large purchases

Winry walked into the bathroom to wash up while Ed cleaned up Al's dishes before he left to. Ed sighed as he remembered work, he didn't enjoy leaving Winry alone and he had nothing for her to do. Ed walked towards the door as Winry came out of the bathroom.

"Leaving already?" Winry asked. Ed looked at her sadly.

"Yeah, sorry." He said. Winry ran over to Ed. "Bye." He said and reached for the door nob. Winry grabbed his hand.

"Please, Ed. Stay. Why do you have to go?" She asked sadly. Ed smiled.

"I have to leave for H.Q."

"Please, Ed. You might get hurt." She was reluctant to let him go, obviously.

"I won't, trust me."

"What if you die? I'd be left here alone again...Like when mom and dad died..." She said. Ed looked into Winry's face. She really was afraid he would die. She was afraid of being alone again. Ed held Winry's chin up.

"I'm not going to die." He told her. Her lip quivered.

"Please. Just stay today." She begged. Ed paused. She was begging...what could he say?

"Oh, Winry." He said. She looked up at him. Ed slowly pressed his lips gently onto Winry's. Her lips were as soft as a flower's petal and she was even more delicate. Ed's kiss was passionate and gentle. Winry was surprised, but enjoyed it just the same. Winry broke it. She looked into Edward's eyes. They gleamed like a lion's. Winry led Ed into his room. He followed lustfully and shut the door behind them.

Outside the apartment later that day,

Breda, Havoc, and Fury looked at the numbers on the apartment door. They were the digits: 2, 2, and 7.

"This is it." Fury said. He knocked on the door.

"What do you think it looks like in there?" Breda asked.

"Probably littered with books and pizza." Havoc answered. They realized no one was answering the door. Fury knocked again. They waited...no answer.

"Should we go in?" Fury asked. Havoc shrugged his shoulders.

"Why not?" He said as he opened the door. They walked in. Breda peered into Al's room while Havoc checked out the kitchen and bathroom. Fury opened Ed's bedroom door silently. He gasped briefly.

"He guys, come over here." He whispered to them. They came straight over and peered inside. Clothes were thrown everywhere. The blankets came up to Winry's chest, but her arms were over the covers. Ed's arm lay gently across Winry's waist while she clung tightly onto Ed's hand with both hers. Winry's chin was held slightly high as Ed's lips barely brushed her neck. His hair had come undone and flowed around his face aimlessly. They were laying on their sides facing the same direction, the door, and were asleep. Fury closed Ed's door silently. They hurried to H.Q.

At H.Q,

Fury, Havoc, and Breda walked into Mustang's office. Mustang looked up.

"Did you find him?" He asked. They nodded as they sat down. "Well, where is he?"

"He was asleep." Fury said.

"Asleep?" Mustang asked.

"With a girl..." Havoc laughed.

"So, he blew off work to have sex with his girlfriend." Mustang said angrily.

"Calm down, Colonel, you didn't have any work for him anyway." Hawkeye told him.

At the apartment that afternoon,

Ed was the first to wake up. He caressed Winry's neck with his lips then sat up slowly. He stretched and got up. Ed pulled on a pair of boxers and his leather pants. He pulled out his sliver watch and looked at the time.

"Damn...already 2p.m..." He stuffed it back in his pocket and walked over to Winry. He smiled at her sleeping body. He bent down and kissed her forehead. Ed threw on a black wool shirt and headed downstairs. He noticed there was mail for once in the mailbox. He read it. The letter happened to be an invitation to the Annual Soldiers Ball. Ed smiled. Usually him and Al would ignore, but this year he would have someone to take. Ed grabbed and envelope and stuffed $20000 inside while he walked back upstairs. He wrote something on the outside and walked into his room quietly. Ed placed the envelope in Winry's hand and headed to a tux store.

At a place that happens to sell tuxedos,

Ed looked around at all the monkey suits. He thought about buying Al one if he wanted to come since this was a black tie event. Ed finally saw something he liked. The tux was black with a deep red tie. The undershirt was white and the cuffs were white with silver buttons. Ed looked at the price. _$10000. _Luckily this was for the entire suit. Ed grabbed it off the rack and brought it to the cashier. He smiled at the man.

"Hello, is this your purchase today?" He asked. He had a lisp as expected by Ed.

"Yeah." Ed said.

"You can afford this?" He asked. Ed frowned.

"Yeah, I can. Just charge me." Ed told him impaitently. The man shrugged and charged Ed. Ed paid fully with cash and took the suit which the man had wrapped with plastic. Ed carried it out of the store happily. Then he remembered Al. _I'll have to bring him here later if he wants to come..._Ed thought. The Ball happened to be only tomorrow. The people in the postal department were lazy.

Ed walked into the apartment quietly. He set the tux down in a box which he pulled out of Al's room. Ed hid the box in Al's room as well. He wrote on it: _Ed's items, do not touch. _He peeked into his room. Winry was still sleeping. He smiled then headed out again. He headed to H.Q. He had left a file there he would need. It contained important information.

Winry woke up sleepily. She thought of Ed rapidly though caressing her neck. She smiled. Winry noticed the envelope in her hand. She saw Ed's handwriting on the front. It said: _Buy yourself a dress you adore, one for a ball, the theme is blue. _She opened it. It held $20000 she could spend wherever she wanted. She smiled.

"Silly, Ed." She whispered. Winry got up and put on her clothes. She pulled on her shoes as well and headed downstairs. She saw a person holding a rather expensive looking gown. "Excuse me, miss!" Winry called to her. The lady smiled.

"Yes?"

"Where did you get that dress?"

"At _Malina's Accessories. _Go left down Green St. for one mile then take a right on Goma Avenue for two miles and you'll see it." She said kindly. Winry thanked her and headed outside. She called a taxi and headed to _Malina's Accessories_.

Winry walked into the store. It was vastly full of gowns and such things. She started looking immediately. A man walked up to her kindly.

"May I help you?" He asked. She smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a ball gown that's blue or purple." She said. The man looked Winry over then smiled.

"I've got just the thing for you!" He said excitedly. He led Winry to a rack of gowns that were all blue. He pulled one out. "Try this on!" He said as he shoved it into Winry and pushed her into a changing stall. The man waited a few minutes then Winry came out with it on. The gown was strapless and flowed to Winry's ankles. It hugged and curved around her until it reached her hips, then it flowed down. It was a deep and cooling navy blue. An elaborate design stretched around the bottom on the dress and flowed upward until halfway to Winry's hips. The man gasped. "Peeerfeeect!" He said loudly. Winry blushed and smiled. He ran up to her. "Take it off and change back. We must find you some jewelry to go with that!" he said and pushed Winry back into the stall. She came back out a minute later with her original clothes on. The man dragged Winry to the choker section.

"What's your name?" Winry asked him. He smiled at her.

"I'm Eliot! What's yours?"

"Winry..." She said as he pointed out the chokers. He pulled one out.

"Hold still, Winry." He said as he put the necklace around her. It had had a black velvet chain and dark blue pendant. "Oh, Winry. You look darling!" He said as he showed her face to her in a mirror. Winry admired the choker. It was simple, but elegant. "You want it don't you?" He asked gladly. Winry nodded. He smiled and brought the choker, along with the earrings that went with it, and the gown to the register. He rung her up.

"So, Winry...that'll be $17738!" Eliot told her. Winry nodded and pulled the money out. She bought the gown and accessories happily and skipped off back to Ed's apartment.

Winry walked in the door. She briefly looked for Ed then ran into Al's room to find a box. She finally found and empty one and stuffed her gown and jewelry in there. She sealed it then stood. She ran to the main room to check the time. It was about 5. She smiled, Al should be back any minute. Winry wondered where Ed went. She noticed a note on the door.

"Was that there before?" She asked as she read it. "He went to H.Q?" She sighed.


	6. File replacement and generous payment

Ed walked in the front doors of H.Q. He headed straight for the files room where he had hid his files. He walked in. Ed started looking for the documents right away. Havoc happened to be there, although neither of the men had seen each other when Ed entered. Havoc turned to where Ed was. He saw a red splotch on the back of Ed's neck. Havoc covered his mouth quickly and ran out of the room. Ed turned.

"That's odd." He said and kept looking for it. He couldn't find it though he realized. It had been...moved.

At Mustang's office after some intense sprinting,

Havoc ran into Mustang's office and burst out laughing. They all stared at him.

"What's so funny, Havoc?" Mustang asked him. Havoc calmed himself as best he could.

"I..just saw...Edward...He has...a hickey...on the back of his neck!" He laughed. Everyone else burst out laughing as well. Ed abruptly swung the doors open as if he had heard them. They all stopped laughing. Ed stormed angrily over to the files cabinet. He started searching through them wildly. They all stared curiously...though they were really trying to see his hickey. Ed paused. Then turned suddenly.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!" Ed growled demonically. They all cowered and turned back to their work. Ed started searching again. Ed was looking for such a simple thing. A small token that was given to him for rebuilding something. It was a map of the place where the Soldier's Ball was held every year. It showed you everything from secret passages to the paintings with holes in the eyes. Ed wanted it, he wanted to explore the mansion so badly he was literally destroying everything to find it.

"Ed-" Fury began. Ed turned furiously. His eyes searing with anger.

"WHAT?" He growled demonically again. Fury shrunk.

"Never mind..." He said. Ed turned back to looking. The files cabinet was dismantled and falling apart. Nobody dared to try and stop Ed, though. Paper was everywhere. The file cabinet was in pieces. It wasn't there. Ed looked around the room trying to pick his next target. Ed ran over to Fury, though he was really going for Fury's desk. Ed swerved around Fury and started looking through his desk. Ed pulled out a picture of Fury and his girlfriend. Ed looked at it. He turned to Fury.

"This your girlfriend?" Ed asked. Fury nodded nervously. Ed looked at it again. He put it under his knee for safe keeping. Fury's desk ended up just like the file cabinet for the same reason to. Ed handed Fury the picture. Ed was beside Breda instantly. "Move." He growled. Breda was frozen with fear. Ed pushed Breda and his chair to the other side of the room and started searching through his stuff to. Ed came across a video. Ed stared it. He kept searching and held it up so Breda could see. "Is this your porn?" Ed asked. Breda blushed. "You shouldn't keep it here." Ed said as he destroyed it. Breda whimpered. Ed found a whole drawer full of videos. "Wow." Ed said. Before he destroyed them he stuffed one in his pocket for safe keeping. As expected, Breda's desk ended up like the one before. Ed thrust the video at Breda. It hit his face. Ed may have been furious before, but now he was pissed. He moved to Havoc's. Havoc fell out of his chair trying to get away. Ed tore through everything. He found a drawer full of pictures of girls, videos, and "special" magazines. Ed picked some of the magazines up. He looked at the cover. "Winry would kill me..." Ed whispered. Ed had considered taking the porn and magazines, but if Winry or Al found them he would be dead. Ed sighed. Ed continued to destroy the desk. He threw a magazine on the floor as he destroyed all of Havoc's personal belongings. Ed stood and stared at Mustang.

"Fullme-" Mustang began.

"MOVE." Ed growled.

"E-" Mustang said nervously.

"NOW." Ed was a frigging demon. Hawkeye stepped away. Ed clapped his hands and hit the ground. Nothing happened.

"Ha! I gue-" Mustang was about to say before he fell into a hole. Ed ran over and laughed as he annihilated Mustang's desk. He was actually enjoying this one. Ed found a picture of Hawkeye in one of the drawers. It was taped to the bottom. Ed looked at it and handed it to Hawkeye. "This is yours." Ed told her. She looked at it then glared at Mustang. He smiled sheepishly. Ed kept looking. "Magazines...pictures...what the hell is this?" Ed said as he lifted up a rubber ball with a heart coming out of it. Ed stared at it. Everyone did. Ed threw it at Mustang's head. Ed finally found it. The map to the mansion. He stood and held it up as if it was a holy object. "Ah ha!" He yelled joyously. Ed gathered up everything that had come out of Mustang's desk. Ed stuffed the map into his pocket and clapped his hands. Ed put a hand on Mustang's desk. It transmuted into Hawkeye, except she was only wearing a _way _to small tank-top and tight shorts. "That pleasing enough?" Ed said. He had remembered the picture that was in Mustang's desk. Ed looked the map over quickly. He shoved it into his pocket. Ed left, but paused at the doorway. He clapped his hands and touched the floor. The hole Mustang was in filled and he rose to the surface. "Bye lechers." Ed said and waved as he left. _How pathetic for me to say that when I would be one to if it wasn't for Winry and Al. _Ed thought to himself. He wondered if any of them would try to get him back for what he did. Ed thought for a minute then came up with a great idea. He ran to the porno store at the other side of town.

At a popular porno store,

Ed walked in. It was dark of course. He searched for the most famous and expensive one on the shelf. Breda had 25 in his desk so Ed would just have to buy 50. The statue of Hawkeye should have been enough for Mustang. Ed looked at the magazine rack. As well as the women, but anyway he picked out about 20 and added them to his arm. Ed thought of something for Fury. He didn't have any lecherous stuff other than that picture of his girlfriend. Ed smiled. He bought the porno and magazines. He got a box to put them in. He did of course. Ed walked to Marina Mack's house, Fury's girlfriend. He knocked on her door. She answered it.

"Hey, Marina. I'm one of Kain's friends. Do you mind if I come in?" Ed asked. Marina shook her head happily. Ed asked Marina for permission to video tape her...naked. She smiled happily and told him he could. She was an idiot obviously. _Wonder where he got this one..._Ed thought. He video taped her happily as she danced in the nude. Ed thanked her and hurried away. She was pretty, but not his style. He printed it on video. Ed headed to the post office. He put all the videos in a large box marked Breda and the magazines in another box marked Havoc. Ed put Marina's video and a small box marked Fury. He sent them to H.Q. Ed smiled as he thought of what they would say. Ed walked out of the post office an glanced at his watch. It said it was about 9. "I should head back. It's getting late." Ed said. He walked home happily knowing that nothing would be ruined when he got back.

At the apartment,

Ed opened the front door. Winry and Al ran up to him.

"Where have you been?" Winry and Al yelled in unison. Ed looked at Al's face.

"I don't want to have to tell you this, but Al you have another zit." Ed commented. Al whimpered and walked into his room.

"I'm going to bed!" Al said depressingly then shut his door.


	7. unneeded payback and a pissed off kid

Winry put her hands on her hips.

"Where have you been, Ed?" She asked. Ed smiled.

"First, I was looking for something, but ended up destroying a bunch of stuff in the process so I bought everything back that I had destroyed and sent it to the people who they belonged to. It took me awhile though since some stuff was hard to get." Ed told her. Winry sighed.

"You had me worried sick!" She yelled. Ed looked at her concerned face.

"Sorry." He said. He kissed her lightly on the lips. She kissed back. They made out for several minutes. Al opened his door to tell Ed something. He just watched as his brother and best friend made out. Al smiled and slowly shut his door. Ed broke it. "Forgive me?"

"Yeah." Winry said softly and nodded. Ed grabbed her hand.

"Come on." He said as he led her into his room. He sat on the bed with Winry next to him. He held her hand. "Winry?" He asked.

"Yes?" she replied. She stared into Ed's eyes.

"I have to ask you something."

"What?"

"Will you go to the Soldiers Ball with me?"

"Of course!" She laughed. Ed sighed with relief. She wouldn't have bought the dress if she wasn't going to go. Ed smiled.

"Good." Then he stood and held out his hand. She accepted it. Ed stripped his bed and put new sheets on it. "No one would want to sleep in a bed this filthy." He said as he threw the last pillow on. Ed walked to the door. "'Night Winry." He said and shut the door behind him. Winry smiled. Ed would rather have her sleep in a bed then himself. Ed opened the closet door in the main room and pulled out a pillow and blanket. He slept on the couch that night.

The morning after an exciting day,

Winry woke up early as ever and left Ed's bedroom silently. She spotted Ed on the couch sleeping soundly. She walked over to him and crouched down by his face. Ed's face was relaxed and clear. Nothing bothering him. Someone knocked loudly on the door suddenly. Winry jumped and stood up. She walked over to the door and opened it. Breda, Havoc, and Fury stood there with their arms crossed angrily.

"Hello, Miss Winry, Is Edward here?" Fury asked kindly. Winry nodded and let them in. Havoc was the first to spot Ed sleeping on the couch. He smiled maliciously at the sleeping boy. So did Fury and Breda. Breda and Havoc smiled at Winry and rushed her out of the apartment. They shut the door loudly behind her and locked it.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She yelled. She waited angrily for them to let her back inside. Breda, Havoc, and Fury snickered happily as they tore Ed's house apart for the second time. They had set a chair in front of Al's door so he couldn't escape. Though, Al nor Ed woke up at the time of the destruction anyway. By the time the men were done everything except Al's room and the couch Ed was sleeping on was in pieces. They laughed and quickly ran away. Winry ran into the apartment. She gasped.

Later after Ed woke up,

Ed cleaned up while Al slept. He grumbled angrily at the empty fridge and the room that _used _to look like a kitchen/dining room. Finally Ed finished along with Winry after and hour of transmuting things back to normal and picking up everything else.

"Destroyed my house even after I spent all that time, money, and dignity buying them their porno! Then even making something customized for Fury!" Ed yelled as he threw the last of the trash away. "They are going to pay." He laughed demonically. Winry stared at him.

"You bought porno for them? Why?" She asked. Ed looked at her.

"Remember when I said I destroyed their personal possessions? Well those possessions were stuff related to porn." Ed explained as they walked into Al's room. Ed sat on Al's bed violently. Al sat up and looked at Ed. "Wake up. I'm bored waiting for you." Ed said and stood back up. Al's head fell.

"Alright..." He said sleepily and got out of bed. Ed smiled proudly at his younger brother.

Winry smiled too and left the room. Al put on his uniform. "Hey, brother." He mumbled.

"Yeah?" Ed asked. Al smiled suspiciously and looked at him.

"How far did you get with Winry last night?" Al asked. Ed blushed and put a hand on his hip.

"Nothing happened." He said.

"Oh, really? I happened to have witnessed the make out session you two held." Al laughed.

"That was it! It didn't go farther than that!" Ed yelled. Al nodded.

"As expected of a boy who has no since for passion." Al added.

"What? I have a sense for passion!" Ed yelled.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes!" Ed growled "Oh and by the way, before I forget, I need you to come home as early as possible so we can get you a tux." Ed said blankly.

"A tux?"

"Yeah, we're going to the Soldier's Ball." Ed said proudly.

"Why? We've never gone before."

"Ha, but this time I have a plan...and someone to go with." Ed said as he left. He knew Al could put together the rest easily.

"Alright!" Al called as Ed left the room.

At H.Q,

Ed walked into Head Quarters pissed as ever. _They're all dead..._He laughed in his mind.

Not long before Ed had entered the building,

A man with a light blue uniform entered Mustang's office with a large, medium, and small box. For Breda, Havoc, and Fury. The man set the boxes on each of the men's desks and left. They all had a note written on the outside near where it's destination's name was. Breda's said: _Double the porn double the fun right? -Ed_.

Havoc's read: _It was rather hard to find these, I hope you enjoy them. -Ed _

And lastly Fury's was: _Your girlfriend is hot, but she's not my type. -Ed _The men looked at each other and dove onto their mail. Breda sung as he lifted up the fifth addition to _Sex on Fire_ and the rest of the collection. Havoc looked at the covers of his magazines joyously. He looked at the sky and shouted: "Thank you, Edward!" then looked back at his magazines. Fury took out the tape and pushed it into a VCR nearby. He watched the first 30 seconds and took it out happily. "Your the best Ed!" He yelled and ran around in circles hugging his video. Mustang realized something. There was nothing for him, yet Ed had destroyed his desk as well. He sat dissatisfied as his rejection from being given presents. Just like a kid on Christmas when they realize they got less presents than they did last year. Breda, Havoc and Fury all cheered Ed and laughed as they looked over their presents. Ed threw open Mustang's doors as he had yesterday. They all stared at Ed. He turned to the men furiously. Then smiled maniacally.

"So you got my presents?" Ed asked. They all nodded fearfully. Ed wiped his face then smiled falsely. "YET, YOU DESTROY MY HOUSE A SECOND TIME!" He yelled demonically. The all shrunk.

"We're sorry, Ed! We'll fix it! We're sorry! Show mercy all powerful one!" They begged. Mustang smiled, amused. Ed laughed.

"You will be sorry after you pay me back." He said. Breda, Havoc, and Fury were on the floor at Ed's feet bowing. They looked at him fearfully now imagining what he'll do. Ed walked over to the new file cabinet and took out three files labeled: _Breda, Havoc_, and _Fury_. Ed walked out the door laughing. Plotting his revenge. Though his revenge was nothing, but to scare them...for now. The men looked at Mustang.

"Protect us all mighty boss!" They bowed to him now. Mustang crossed his arms.

"You messed with the bull you got the horns. Now you'll be getting the hoof and horns though since you didn't learn your lesson the first time." He told them and turned towards the window in his spinney chair. Hawkeye smiled at how much the Colonel learned. Carma doesn't effect Ed and Al anymore, only because they _are _the Carma.


	8. Soldiers Ball part 1

Ed led Al into the same store of which he bought his tux.

"Look around for something, I'll be right back." Ed told Al as he walked away. Al nodded and started looking for something. He found what he wanted right away. It was black with a silver tie and cuffs. The undershirt was white. Al grabbed it headed straight to the fitting rooms. He put it on quickly. It fit perfectly.

"What luck." Al muttered as he looked at himself in the mirror. He took it off and put his original clothes back on. Al brought the tux to his brother who was examining a piece of large paper. "What's that?" Al asked as he walked up behind Ed. Ed folded it up quickly.

"Nothing!" He said nervously as he stuffed it into his pocket.

"Is that a picture of Winry?" Al asked. Ed laughed at how far off Al was.

"No..." He tried to catch his breath. Ed noticed the tux. "Is that your suit?" He asked. Ed was impressed by how quickly Al found something.

"Yeah." Al said happily and nodded. Ed grinned and brought the damn monkey suit to the register. The guy smiled at the young boys and charged them $10650 for the suit. Ed dug the last bit of cash he had out of his pocket and gave it to the man. Al took his suit and the boys headed to the apartment. A note was on the door.

_I've gone ahead and left for the ball. See you there. -Winry _Ed smiled and opened the door.

"Get into your monkey suit. We'll be leaving soon." Ed told Al who went straight into his room. Ed followed and dug out the box he had hid his suit in. Ed pulled it out and walked into his room. The boys put their lovely tuxedos on and headed to the Soldier's Ball.

At the mansion,

Ed and Al walked in the ballroom. Not that many people were there. Maybe 20-40.

"Fancy." Ed commented. Al nodded as he looked at the sparkling chandelier and large blue drapes. The outside wall was glass and looked out on a valley of purple and blue. Ed's eyes gleamed at the banquet table, though. Pork, Turkey, Ham, Stew, biscuits, crumpets, wine, chowder, etc, etc. Ed almost floated over to the well-cooked food. He spotted the strawberry shortcake first. He cut himself a slice and took a bite. Al pulled something out of Ed's pocket. It was a map. Ed moaned, the cake was so good.

"What's this?" Al asked. Ed turned to him with his face full of cake.

"A map of the mansion." Ed said, his mouth full. He swallowed.

"For what?" Al asked.

"For when we get bored." Ed said. Al gave to paper back to Ed. He took it gladly. He looked around for Winry. She seemed to be somewhere else. Ed walked away from the table. Al was looking at the valley. It was sunset which made the valley look even more magical than normal. Ed spotted a girl with a navy blue gown on talking to another woman with a fancy purple gown on herself. They smiled, the two woman, at each other. Ed realized the the girl in navy blue was Winry. She looked stunning. Her hair was curled and her dress showed her perfect figure. The choker and matching earring complemented her dress while the dress complemented Winry's gorgeous face. Ed just stared at this goddess who blessed him by just letting him look at her.

"Wow..." Ed mumbled and walked over to her. She turned to him and smiled. Again, a goddess who blessed him with her beauty.

"You look nice, Ed. I've never seen you dress up." Winry commented. Ed nodded sheepishly. Violins and "gentle" instruments came on. People around them started dancing with the opposite gender. Or more gently put, Ladies and Gentleman started doing the waltz together. Ed looked at Winry's beautiful face. He held his hand out.

"May I have this dance?" He asked politely. Winry blushed and took his hand. They stood together and did the waltz as everyone else was and danced slowly. "Winry..You look stunning...and gorgeous." Ed told her. Winry smiled and blushed harder.

"You do to." She said. They danced together for several minutes. The theme was lovely and thruthfully, by now, all of Mustang's men and himself finally arrived. Mustang spotted Al looking out the glass window.

"Alphonse!" He yelled to him. Al turned and smiled at the Colonel.

"What's up Colonel Mustang?" Al asked. Mustang was surprised to see Al in a tux.

"Is Fullmetal here?" He asked. Al nodded and looked around.

"He must have found Winry sometime ago." Al told him.

"So he's dating her now?" Mustang laughed "Finally." Al smiled. Mustang searched for Hawkeye. He found her talking with the other underlings. She was wearing a simple blue ball gown while the others were wearing tuxedos.

"Hey, Hawkeye." He said. She smiled at him.

"Hello, Colonel." She said. She held a glass of wine, as did the others.

"Did you know that Fullmetal and his brother are here? Along with a girl." Mustang told them. They laughed, not loudly of course.

"So their getting serious." Havoc said proudly. They grinned as they thought of Edward with a woman. It seemed almost impossible due to his personality. They spotted a girl and boy though, about the same height, dancing. Both with blond hair.

"Is that them now?" Breda asked. Fury nodded. They all watched to two dance together happily. The two were the perfect couple.

E.

"Winry?" Ed asked. She looked at his face. He was blushing immensely.

"Yeah, Ed?" She asked.

"Why do you stay with me? The way I never call or visit...I thought you would've left me behind by now..Not waiting at home for me." Ed said sadly, yet gratefully.

"Because...What would I do without you two? I can't leave you behind. You can't leave me behind either. We need each other. If I left you two...I would be lonely...and sad." She explained. Ed looked at her.

"Oh, Winry, you silly girl..." He said. They held each others gaze. Ed leaned in and kissed her lips lightly with his own. Love, passion, and understanding...attracted to each other by emotions neither understand, yet they understand the others.

Over where Mustang is,

Mustang and his men watched the two kiss lovingly. They really were a match made before they even knew it...A match made in heaven, I suppose.

E.

Ed's kiss was the only thing Winry needed to know she _was_ needed. Ed felt the same. He couldn't live without her smiling face waiting for him back home.

"Thanks Winry...For waiting for me." He told her. Winry laid her head on his shoulder lightly. She teared up. _I love you..._They both thought it, but were to afraid to tell the other. Ed thought of something then. He knew where to go and what to do. He glanced at the wall clock on the other side of the room. They had several hours before the party ended. They could explore and have fun there. Ed let Winry go. She looked at him curiously. "I'll be right back, Winry." He told her and ran towards Al. He tapped on his younger brother's shoulder.

"Time to investigate?" Al asked. Ed smiled and nodded. Ed walked over to the food and wine table. He secretly poured some wine for himself and Winry. Then trotted back over to his love. She smiled as he returned. Ed handed her a glass.

"Wine?" She asked.

"Yeah, try it." He said as he took a few drinks of his.

"You trying to get me drunk for later?" Winry asked.

"I don't have to for that!" He laughed and drank the rest. Winry rolled her eyes playfully and drank the wine. They set their glasses down on a table nearby.

"Want to explore this mansion?" Ed asked her.

"Really? That seems kind of boring." She said as she thought of empty rooms except for the people having secret sex.

"No, there's secret passages in this building and you know how when you pass a painting and you think a person is behind it watching you through the painting's eye?" Ed asked. Winry nodded. "Well, there's paintings like that here and I think we should take advantage of this opportunity to explore this place." Ed said as he held up the map.

"What's that?" Winry asked.

"A map of the mansion. Come on." He said as he walked to Al. Winry followed. Ed tapped Al's shoulder and waved for him to follow.

Back again where Mustang was,

Mustang and his group watched Ed fetch Al and walk over the staircase.

"What are they doing?" Fury asked.

"Hell if I know." Havoc answered.

Over at the lonely staircase,

Ed looked at the map and picked up a floorboard. A piece of an old wooden door was in the floor. Ed grinned and took away and few more floorboards. A whole door appeared on the floor. Ed opened it and sure enough, it led somewhere.

"Go down and wait for me." Ed told the two. They secretly entered down the passage way. Ed transmuted the floor boards he'd taken off together and transmuted them the the door. Ed crawled in and shut the door behind him.


	9. Soldier Ball part 2

The passage way quite old and cobwebs hung from the corners. The teens grinned at how awesome this mansion was and what a great opportunity this was.

"Look, another door." Ed pointed out as they reached the end of the hallway. They all went through it. The walls were concrete and so was the floor. Pipes ran around the walls. It was another hallway. This place led up though. They were in the walls. Ed found a painting of which hole were cut out in. He looked through. It was nothing, just an empty hallway. The passage way the three were in kept going upward. Eventually they realized they were in the air ducts. Ed looked at the map.

"We should be above the kitchen." Ed told them. They were all on their hands and knees. They came to where the place split in two.

"A fork in the road!" Al laughed. Ed and Winry did to.

"How about we split up. Winry and Al you go that way. I'll head this way." Ed pointed to the two to head left while Ed went right. Ed gave the map to Al. "Here, I've pretty much memorized it." Ed told them. They were a little uneasy about it, but gave in.

"Alright." The two agreed with this plan and took the map as well. Al and Winry happened to be the weakest, but Al was still as strong as his brother, so Winry would go with him the help if they ran into trouble while Ed could take care of himself and went on his own.

Ed started to have to crawl on his stomach as the area got tighter and tighter.

"Jeez...Why is this place so small?" He mumbled to himself. Suddenly, nothing was under Ed, he was falling and he couldn't see the bottom. Ed fell for about 10 seconds only though. He fell hard on his ass. He heard shouting from outside the wall. Abruptly, a small pipe came through a small hole. Black gas poured from the pipe suddenly and surrounded Ed. He coughed. "Shit..." He mumbled. The pipe retracted and the hole was covered. All Ed could see was black. He felt around for a way out, but could find one. Ed sighed and started to climb up the walls. It was hard to breath in that black smoke. Ed found himself in the tight area again.

Al and Winry were walking again. They had stumbled into a large area of which happened to be a hallway. They came to a door. Winry opened it and stepped through. She fell. Onto a man to be precise. She got off him quickly.

"Sorry!" She apologized. It was Mustang. The two of them had stepped out of a painting. Hawkeye and the rest of Mustang's party were there.

"So that's where you three went. Into the secret passages on the building." Havoc said unsurprised.

"You two should be ashamed, poking around in this place. You were luck enough to be invited." Hawkeye scolded. Al and Winry's heads fell in shame. Fury looked into the passage way.

"Where's Ed?" He asked. Al looked at him.

"We hit a fork and we had the split up." Al told him confidently.

"Oh." Fury said as he put the painting back.

"No more snooping around!" Hawkeye commanded. Al and Winry nodded shamefully.

Ed crawled through the small space again. He could barely breath, he wondered it that stuff was rat poison or something. Abruptly, Ed started being sucked into something. Ed was pulled quickly into a fan, which had a screen on it. It was shut off quickly though and Ed fell into another abyss.

"Why does this keep happening?" Ed mumbled the himself as he stood. Ed took another step forward and fell again. It was about 100 meters down. Ed fell onto his back, hard. "Ah!" He yelled. He shut his eyes tight. The breath had been knocked out of him. Ed stood up slowly. "Ow.." He mumbled. He noticed something in the distance. A large creature. It looked like a chimera. Ed looked around. He was in a dimly lit room. The place looked like a cellar. Ed suddenly heard growling sound come from the chimera. It ran toward Ed. He took a step back, it looked like a monster. It was quick to. The thing tried to bite into Ed's shoulder, it missed and hit the wall. Ed quickly transmuted his arm into a dagger. "I really didn't want to get blood on this tux." He said sadly. Ed glanced over to where the chimera had run into the wall. It was gone though. Ed felt something pierce his upper back, near his left shoulder. Ed grunted painfully. Another thing pierced his left ankle, which didn't hurt since it was auto-mail. Ed looked down just as the chimera but into Ed's stomach. He yelled out in pain them sliced the poor thing's arm off. He shrieked and bounced a few feet away. Ed looked down. A large chunk of his suit was missing, but only large teeth marks were in his side. Ed ripped the arm he'd sliced off out of his back and turned to the chimera. It had run away again, but the blood trail left by it led behind Ed. He turned as the thing bit into Ed's left shoulder. Ed yelled again and stabbed the chimera's chest. It fell the ground. Ed retracted his dagger and fell down onto the floor a few feet away. He held his shoulder as the chimera died in front of him. Ed stood. The teeth had connected in several places throughout Ed's shoulder, but it was still there. Ed sighed as he looked at his suit. A chunk was gone from the side and there was a large hole in the left arm sleeve and left pant leg as well as several more in his left shoulder. On top of that it was now stained with blood. "I'll have to throw it out." Ed sighed. He took off his jacket and walked through another door at the end of the room. He opened it. A small passage way was there, he would have to crawl. Ed did though if it meant escaping from that room. It got tighter and tighter again. Ed heard the floor start cracking. "Shit." He mumbled as he fell large chunks fall from under him. Ed fell into a bright room about another 100 meters. He hit the floor hard again. This time he broke a rib in the fall which had only been cracked last time. Ed looked up. He was in the ballroom. He'd fallen from the ceiling. People crowded around Ed. He was bleeding badly and was missing his jacket. Ed sat up and held his neck with one hand. "I guess my calculations were wrong." Ed said to himself. Ed got up and sighed. "Ugh." He muttered. This pain was bad and getting worse. He stumbled over to the food and wine table. People watching him intently. Ed grabbed a wine bottle and took the cork out. He smelled it. Smelled fresh and brisk. He and Winry could have their own party at the apartment tonight. Ed put the cork back in. Ed leaned against the table. Blood dripped heavily from his wounds and onto the floor. Ed looked back at the tux. "Damn...It's totally ruined." He groaned. Ed held the wine bottle in his left hand and held his shoulder with his right. He heard footsteps running towards him. He looked up. Winry, Al, Mustang, and Mustang's party were running toward him. Ed smiled at them gladly. They stopped though and Winry covered her mouth. Ed felt another thing pierce his back. It was right below his auto-mail. Ed looked down. A swords blade had gone right through him. It retracted quickly. Ed fell onto his hands and knees. He looked behind him. The man who had stabbed him was wiping his sword.

"That's what you get for ruining my ceiling, staining my floors and table, snooping around my mansion, and steeling my wine." He told Ed angrily.

"You're going to kill me because of something that can be replaced easily?" Ed asked as he stood. The man prepared to battle Ed. Ed put the wine bottle down on the floor.

"I'm taking the wine, It's sort of like payment for the almost killing me part of the party." Ed said. The man swung at Ed's head. He ducked and ran under the man's arms. Ed struck his fist into the guy's jaw. He fell backwards then regained his balance. Ed ran at him and slammed his fist into the guy's stomach. This time he fell onto the ground and held his stomach. Ed fell onto his knees and held his side. Ed grunted and stood again. The guy flung his sword at Ed's head. Ed moved his head, but not far enough. The sword sliced his cheek. Ed sighed and walked back over to the wine. He picked it up and watched his friends run to him again. Ed was feeling light headed. He'd lost to much blood. Ed tried to breath deeply, but whatever that black smoke had been earlier, it had taken a number on Edward. Ed leaned on the table with his left hand and the bottle in his right. Ed shut his eyes. Everything was blurring, even the sounds of the music and people talking. Ed felt his face hit something blunt and cold. Women screamed and everyone started talking louder. _"Someone! Pick him up!"._

Ed looked at himself from the ceiling. He was bleeding badly. The paramedics were surrounding him. They set something up around him and pounded him with metal things. His body jumped every time they did that. They did it once more. He felt himself being pushed. They did it again. Ed fell into himself this time.


	10. Hospitalized then returning home

_"Don't you die!" _People were yelling, though it was all blurred and muffled to Ed. _"Ed! Don't die!" _Ed's eyes shot open. That was Winry's voice. _"You promised! You promised you wouldn't die!" _She cried. He focused his vision and looked over. He was in the ballroom. Several people were around him, they were all yelling. He noticed he was still on the floor. Winry, Al, and Mustang were being pushed back while Mustang's underlings were standing back with their faces covered with their hands. Ed felt himself being electrified. Ed yelled out in pain. He head fell sideways toward Winry. She was crying. Ed smiled weakly. "Silly, Winry." He mumbled. Ed was thrown violently onto a gurney and pushed into an ambulance. Ed shut his eyes and tried to remember back.

"The wine...Damn...I forgot it." Ed muttered to himself. He started getting a migraine from all the yelling and it just got worse. Ed got more and more pissed. The sirens were plausible, but yelling? Was that really necessary in a car only four feet wide and six feet long? Ed held his head with one hand, but suddenly his head started throbbing.

"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT THE HELL UP?" He yelled. Everyone stopped talking and stared at him. "Thank you." He muttered irritably. The talking switched to regular normal talking instead of yelling. It was a long way to the hospital Ed noticed. Ed's gurney was thrown violently onto the ground with him still in it. He groaned. Was is necessary to be so violent? The paramedics rushed him into the hospital where some nurses rushed Ed into the E.R. _Emergency Room..._Ed thought. "Winry's going to kill me." Ed said to himself. He thought of Winry. Her smiling face and different expressions. Her hair a sandy kind of color, but felt as soft as cashmere. Her royal blue eyes gleaming in the ballroom as he danced with her. Her kiss as gentle and soft as her heart. Her body...that sexy body that curves in all the right places. It clicked and Ed realized if he died he wouldn't get to see her ever again. _I must live on, so I can be with her..._Ed thought devotedly. There was no way in hell he was dying anytime soon. A nurse set a plastic mask over Ed's face and told him to breath deeply. He did so and he fell asleep.

Ed opened his eyes slowly. He'd felt this feeling of soreness and inpatients before. Like when...no. He was to tired for a flashback. Ed looked around his room. Then at the clock: 6:58 a.m.

"Great..All alone." He said sarcastically. Ed shut his eyes. "I was kind of hoping to see Winry." He sighed to himself. Her smiling face flashed in his mind. The thought of what may have happened if he had gone left and Winry had gone right. _She'd be dead. _Ed gasped and his eyes shot open. The clock said: 10:02 a.m. "Holy shit...four hours." Ed mumbled. It was a nightmare. Winry being eaten by that chimera, Ed shuddered again. He had to see her now. To confirm she was alright. Ed got up and started searching for his clothes. He found them and got dressed into them. He grabbed his red coat from a local coat rack and pulled on his shoes. Ed noticed a nurse waiting outside the room in case he tried to leave. Ed sighed and opened the window. Two story. Kind of risky. Ed grinned as he thought of something. Ed clapped and transmuted several thin brick boards shot out of the side of the building one on top of the other. Ed snickered and jumped out the window. He broke them all on his way down, but his ass was the only thing hurt. Ed ran to the apartment. He started stumbling though. His side had opened back up. Ed lifted his shirt and glanced at it. It wasn't bad, he just couldn't run anymore. Ed grabbed a cab to his apartment. Ed hurried up the stairs and pulled the key out of his pocket. He opened his door. Winry, Al, Mustang, and Hawkeye were all sitting on the couch talking. They stopped and looked at Ed. He sighed, a wave of relief rushing over him. Winry stood suddenly.

"Ed!" She yelled irritably. Ed collapsed onto his knees and smiled. _Damn my impulsiveness. _Ed thought, but he didn't really care. He had to see Winry alive and he did. That was all that mattered. She ran over to him and crouched by him.

"Good..." Ed mumbled.

"What?" Winry asked.

"Sorry, Winry. Couldn't be helped, I had to see you." Ed said nervously and grinned. Winry glared at him. She hit him over the head with a wrench. Ed didn't say "ow", he just sat there smiling. He was over-flowing with joy knowing that Winry was safe.

"Ow." He managed to say so he didn't look weird.

"Well, that was delayed reaction." Hawkeye added. Winry smiled along with Al. Ed stood and held his side.

"I got to get back. I may bleed to death if not." Ed laughed. They all stared at him quizzically. Ed turned and hit the railing. He was pretty light-headed from all the bleeding due to running about a mile and then upstairs. Ed eased his way to the actual steps. He managed to get down them without falling though he skipped more than a lot of steps. Ed stepped out of the building. He called a taxi and headed back to the hospital. Once he got there he headed straight to his room. He hung up his coat and kicked his shoes off. He set his shirt on the end of the bed and stood in his sleeveless. Ed collapsed onto the bed. A nurse rushed in. She noticed blood trickling from his side. She yelled at Ed and did a little stitching. Ed didn't care though. He was just happy knowing Winry was safe. He turned to the nurse.

"When do you think I can leave?" Ed asked her. She glared at him.

"Not for about a week." She growled. Ed sighed.

The week went by slowly. Winry had to leave Central in the middle of it and said goodbye to Ed, but it was fast. She was only there for about five minutes. Al visited a lot and several other people did to. Finally the last day came. Ed smiled as he threw on his shirt. Ed pulled on his shoes and grabbed his coat. It was only 6a.m and nobody was really awake, but if Ed could leave he was going to. Ed ran out the front door happily after discharging himself. He ran to the apartment to fetch Al. He burst through the front door and ran into Al's room.

"Al! Come on, we're leaving!" Ed yelled. Al sat up and looked at him curiously. Al got dressed, encouraged by Ed, and they left. Ed dragged Al to H.Q where Ed had to tell Mustang he was leaving. Ed burst through the office doors happily. They all jumped and looked at Ed. They were surprised to see him. He was an hour early. "I'm leaving for Resembool, bye!" Ed said and shut the doors. They heard him laughing down the hall. Ed grabbed the sleeping Al and dragged him to the train station. Ed was about to see the woman he loved after not seeing her smiling face for three days. They caught the earliest train to Resembool.

Ed and Al walked to Winry's house. Ed was clearly more excited than Al who was still half asleep. It took three days. Ed hadn't seen Winry for six. Nor Winry had seen Ed, the truth was she was missing him just as much as Ed missed her. All she had done the whole time she was home was stare at a picture of them all together. It was really annoying Pinako, but she wouldn't ever mess with true love.

At Winry and Pinako's house,

Ed burst through the front door. Pinako jumped. Winry was still asleep.

"Hey, boys." She said. Ed smiled at her and Al did to.

"Winry asleep?" Ed asked as he pointed upstairs. Pinako nodded. Ed set his suitcase down and ran upstairs. Al put his next to Ed's and joined Pinako in setting the table.

Ed opened Winry's bedroom door silently. She was asleep. Ed noticed something in her hands. It was a picture of him. Tear drops stained it. Ed smiled weakly.

"I haven't seen you sleep since the first night." Ed sighed. "You cried last night, huh?" Ed sat next to her gently. He caressed her face with the back of his hand. Ed let his hand fall to the picture. He picked it up. It was the picture Pinako had took the day Ed had gotten his certification. It was Ed with his coat on and everything holding out his watch and smiling. Ed glanced at Winry's hands. They closed into fists. A tear ran down her cheek. "Don't cry, Winry. It's alright." He said softly as he set the picture next to her and put his hand on her head. No more tears ran down her cheeks and her fists unclenched. Ed smiled. His eyes full of love and kindness. He loved Winry more than anything. Nothing would stop him from pursuing _her_ happiness, which was basically his own. Whatever the cost, he would get it. Ed leaned over to Winry and kissed her cheek gently. He stood and left the room. Ed shut the door behind him silently. Winry opened her eyes. She noticed the picture was beside her instead of in her hands. She had dreamt of Ed. She dreamt that he had died and she was alone, but he came back at the end of the dream in spirit. He'd patted her head and kissed her lightly on the cheek before he said goodbye. Winry sat up in her bed and cried. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she really wasn't all that loud. Winry got up and wiped her face. She had a desperate idea. She would head back to Central to see Ed.


	11. Love crazed boy and girl

Winry got dressed and headed downstairs. Her eyes were still swollen from crying. She noticed a blond boy sitting at the table in her kitchen. It was Ed. He'd come home.

"Ed.." She whispered. Ed looked behind him to see Winry crying. He smiled and walked up to her. He grabbed her hand. Ed pulled a cloth from Winry's pants and gently wiped her face.'Don't cry Winry." He said gently. She hugged him and sobbed more. "What's wrong?" He asked. Ed was slightly concerned. She just hugged him.

"Don't die, okay?" She said through tears. Ed smiled weakly.

"I promise." He told her sincerely. Winry smiled. She took the cloth from him and wiped her face. "Why were you crying, Winry?" Ed asked. Winry shook her head.

"No reason." She said and put the cloth back in her pocket.

Later,

Pinako and Al left to go shopping for food only a few minutes ago, Ed sat in the living room reading. Winry had gone to a paitents house to attach some new auto-mail to them. Winry burst through the front door, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ed jumped and looked at her. He was immediately scared for her.

"Winry? What's wrong?" He asked. Ed dropped his book and ran to her. Winry covered her face and fell into Ed. She was half faking for Ed's attention and the other half really was crying. Ed wrapped his arms around her and petted her head.

"A...a cat!...It was flat..by the side of the road!...It had a collar!" She sobbed. Ed smiled weakly.

"Is that it?" He asked.

"But..It's someone cat!" She cried harder. Ed stopped smiling and sat on the floor with Winry. She sat in his lap. Ed put his chin on her head and wrapped his arms around her gently. He petted the back of her head.

"It's just a cat, Winry." Ed said. Winry sobbed more.

"Yeah? And a human is just a human." She cried. Ed smiled. He knew where she was getting to.

"Later we'll go back and find the owner. We'll make a grave and tell them their cat is dead. Alright?" Ed asked. Winry shook her head. "No?" Ed asked.

"I don't want to see it again." She sobbed.

"Alright." He said and smiled weakly.

After a sob fest from Winry and several attempts to calm her down,

Al and Pinako walked through the front door with food in their arms. They set the bags on the table.

"Winry?" Pinako yelled.

"Brother?" Al yelled. Pinako shrugged her shoulders and started unloading the bags. Al headed upstairs to look for them. He peeked into Winry's room and was struck with surprise. They were fully dressed, but they were sleeping _together_. Al watched them trying to make since of this. Ed had both his arms around her. She held onto his hand and held it against her lips. Ed's chin was sitting on top of Winry's head. Winry was in a ball on her side while Ed kind of wrapped around her. They both laid on their side facing the wall. Al stared. Then it hit him, _love...I can't believe I never put it together, they're in love. _Al thought stupidly. He shut the door silently and headed back downstairs.

"Did you find them?" Pinako asked. Al nodded.

"They were sleeping." He said. Pinako smiled.

"Were their clothes on or off?" She asked. Al smiled this time.

"On. You realize their in love too, right granny?" Al asked as he helped put some ingredients together for stew.

"Of course, only an idiot wouldn't be able to see that." Pinako said. Al laughed and nodded.

Ed woke up. He looked at Winry's sleeping face again. _Just like before only with clothes. _Ed thought. He kissed Winry's forehead and got up. He headed straight downstairs. The stew was done and Pinako was serving. Al looked up at his brother proudly.

"I didn't think you would fall in love this early." Al told him. Ed blushed. Pinako laughed.

"Have some stew, Ed." She said. Ed nodded and sat down. They ate happily.

Winry woke up at dawn. She rolled over to where she thought Ed was, but instead of rolling into the man she loved, she rolled into air. She sighed. She wished for once she would wake up first. Winry got up and combed her hair. She stretch and headed downstairs. It was the usual look of her house in the morning. Winry walked into the kitchen and took out ham. It was just a think slice of ham, though. She pulled out a pan and set it on a burner. Winry slapped the ham onto it. Once she was done constructing her breakfast she headed back upstairs. She noticed something move in Ed and Al's room. She peered through the crack in the door. It was Ed, he was stretching and just waking up. Winry smiled. _Finally, he's awake _she thought. Ed stood and pulled on his black long-sleeve shirt. He combed his hair and tied in back. Winry trampled into her room to pretend that she hadn't been spying on him. She sighed. Ed's body was beautiful to her and sexy. No one could match it.

Ed opened his door and shut it gently behind him. He thought about looking in on Winry, but headed downstairs. If she was awake she would most likely be there. He found trace evidence of someone making breakfast. He headed back upstairs when he couldn't find her. Ed knocked on Winry's door.

"Winry?" He asked. She opened it. They smiled at each other. Winry stepped back to let him in. He walked in and shut the door most of the way behind him. Winry threw her arms around him.

"I was so sad." She told him. Ed was concerned suddenly.

"Why?" He asked nervously. She looked at him and smiled.

"You weren't there when I woke up." She said softly. Ed smiled and blushed. He kissed her as he usually did, on the lips. It was a good morning kiss. This _was _a good morning. Every morning was if Winry was there with him. Winry led Ed over to her bed and they sat down. They laid down and kissed each other with passion so obvious a complete moron even like Colonel Mustang (sorry Mustang lovers) would be able to see it. They pressed up against each other, but clothes weren't shed. People were still in that house and could've come through the door any second, so it would've been a very good idea. Ed had the greatest idea while making out with Winry, though. _A date. _He thought. Though his mind was clogged with love, Winry, and ideas for making her happy he at least still had some decent ideas.

Later,

Ed walked downstairs after making out with Winry for some time. Pinako and Al were sitting at the table laughing.

"What's so funny?" Ed asked curiously. They turned to Ed.

"Yo-you!" Al laughed harder. Ed was confused.

"What about me is funny?" Ed asked slightly irritated. Pinako took a deep breath.

"It's not that we're laughing at you its more like we're laughing at how cute and perfect you and Winry are together!" She said and started laughing again. Al nodded and kept laughing. Ed sighed and rolled his eyes. The phone rang suddenly. Ed, being closest to the phone, answered it.

"Hello?" He asked cordially.

"_Would this happen to be the Rockbell house?" _A man asked.

"Yeah. What's up?" Ed said. Out of his stupidity for love over Winry he hadn't realized it was Mustang calling from Central.

"_It's Mustang if you haven't realized that yet." _He said blankly.

"Yeah, of course. What do want already?" Ed asked impatiently.

"_We need you back in Central. We have a mission for you. Why are you in Resembool anyway?" _

"None of your damn business." Ed yelled, but then sighed "We'll be back in a few days." Ed said and hung up. He didn't really want to leave Winry here waiting and he couldn't keep her with him. He guessed that he would just have to keep her waiting until next time, unfortunately. Ed walked to the stairs which separated the kitchen and main room. He leaned into the kitchen.

"We're going back to Central tomorrow, Al." Ed warned him. Al nodded and kept talking with Pinako. Ed walked upstairs to tell Winry who had been finishing and order from someone. Ed opened her door silently. Sweat dripped slightly from her forehead and a determined looked was in her eyes. Ed smirked. Winry was cute and devoted to anyone who needed her. Ed's face had a slightly sorry look to it as if he was going to tell her something neither of them wanted to here. Winry looked at him curiously.

"Winry." Ed said.

"Yeah?" Winry said as she wiped her head. Ed wanted to keep her for himself he didn't want to leave her here.

"I've been requested to go back to Central." He told her. Winry's face fell.

"Already? It's only been two days." She said disappointingly. Ed shoved his hands into his pocket and remembered he had been planning to take Winry on a date. He tried not to smiled.

"Hey, Winry. I got be going. I've got some important business in town." He told her. Winry nodded sadly and kept working. Ed headed downstairs. He pulled on his shoes and headed out the door. Ed walked to the market. It was small, but he buy something decent for a date. He found some freshly baked apple pie and strawberry shortcake. He bought the apple pie and headed for the wine and flowers store. Ed set the apple pie down while he looked over the wine bottles. He was a little young to be drinking wine, but they would probably think he was older than he looked when they saw his State Alchemist badge. He finally found something he thought Winry would like than headed over to the flowers part of the store with the pie and wine. He found three deep red roses he thought were nice. He bought the wine and flowers and headed back out. Ed walked to a place where people sold hand woven baskets. He bought a simple yet elegant one for a rather high price and gently set the wine, rose, and pie on there. Ed carried it back to the house and hid it in a tree. He figured this was an odd place to find something so who would look in a tree for anything? Ed walked silently into the house and grabbed two wine glasses that Pinako had bought in her early years. Ed put them in the basket of which he hid back in the tree after. He walked into the house again making it more obvious he was back._ At sunset. _Ed thought. He was slightly excited, it was only noon though. He didn't want to disturb or distract Winry from her work so Ed thought it would be a good idea for himself and Al to visit their mother's grave.


	12. Mom's grave and a date

Ed walked upstairs. Al was holding several tulips in his hands. He'd picked them earlier. Al was going to visit mom's grave as well, but he couldn't bring himself to go down there. It was so depressing for him. Ed opened Al's door. Tears were running down Al's cheeks.

"Al?" Ed asked. It was more like a "whats wrong" kind a question then just asking for someone attention. Ed walked over to his brother and sat next to him.

"You alright?" He asked. Al held the tulips closer.

"I was going to visit mom's grave...but I couldn't..." He sobbed. Ed smiled weakly.

"Come on. I'm going right now and you have to come." Ed said firmly.

"Why?" Al asked. He was confused, he _had _to go?

"Yeah. She misses you most, Al." Ed told him gently. "I see her every time I come back, where most of the time you weren't able to, but now you can." Ed explained. He helped Al up. Al smiled and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Ed smiled and they left.

At the graveyard,

Ed stood back while Al laid the tulips atop their mother's grave. A warm breeze blew past them and Al smiled. He knew it was his mother thanking him.

"I'm sorry. It's been too long." Al sobbed. Nobody else was at the graveyard, yet they still heard a soft voice. Al fell onto his knees. He covered his face.

_"Thank you, boys...I love you_..." The voice said. The boys knew it was their mother and that she would probably never be able to talk to them again. She really was gone. Tears streamed down both Ed and Al's faces as the feeling of their mother left again.

"Bye..." They said softly. Ed wiped his face and held his hand out to his brother.

"Let's head back, Al." He said. Al looked at his brother. Tears were slowly moving down his face. Al smiled that he wasn't the only one crying anymore. He grabbed his brother's hand and stood. Al wiped his face and they headed back to Pinako's.

At Pinako's house,

By the time Ed and Al had gotten back to the house their faces looked normal again, but it was almost sunset. They entered the house. Winry and Pinako were sitting at the table waiting for them to get home. Winry smiled at them, so did Pinako. They boys sat down and they all ate dinner together.

After dinner,

Pinako gathered up the dishes and set them in the sink. Al walked over to help wash them. Ed stood up and walked over to Winry. It was sunset now and they needed to get going. Ed held out his hand to Winry as she stood.

"I have to show you something." Ed told her. Pinako and Al looked over at the two.

"Okay." Winry agreed and smiled. Ed did to and led her outside. He led her to the tree of which he had hidden the basket. Ed shook it slightly and the basket landed in his arms. He hoped everything was okay. Ed held the basket in one hand and gently took Winry's hand with the other. She blushed_. What's going on? What are we doing_? She thought curiously. She wanted it to go on though. Winry followed Ed to the meadow they used to always play in when they were children. It was a very large meadow, it went as far out to the west as you could see. The trees were barely visible. The perfect place to watch the sunset. The grass was cut frequently though even due to it's largeness which made it more comfortable.


	13. No spoiler alerts needed for this one

Ed sat down in the middle of the meadow with Winry.

"What's all this?" Winry asked. Ed shrugged his shoulders.

"A date kind of." Ed said. Winry smiled.

"You didn't even ask me out." She said.

"I didn't think I would have to!" Ed laughed. Ed set the basket down and pulled out the roses he had bought earlier. They had looked better earlier compared to the other flowers, but they were only decent when compared to Winry. Ed gave them to her. She blushed.

"You're never romantic, Ed." She said surprised, but accepted the flowers nonetheless. Ed smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I figured this would be good time to try, since I'm leaving tomorrow." Ed told her. She nodded. "I plan on making this a night you'll remember for a long time." Ed said as he pulled out the wine and glasses. Winry was surprised at how prepared he was. Ed was usually very impulsive. He smiled at Winry and poured a glass a wine for her. She accepted and sipped it slowly. She'd gotten used to the bitter taste at the party/ball thing. Ed had gotten used to it awhile ago, but only drank alcohol on special occasions. He poured himself a glass and drank some. When they finished drinking their first glass of wine Ed finally pulled out the apple pie.

"Apple pie?" Winry asked. Ed started to pop off the cover.

"Well, it's something I know you like to eat and it was freshly made when I bought it." Ed told her and gave her a slice. Winry bit into it happily. It was delicious Ed noticed, but not as good as Winry's pie. Ed and Winry ate the pie and had another glass of wine as the sun finally reached the top of the trees. Ed turned to Winry. His face was red and it felt just as hot.

"Winry?" He asked. She turned to him.

"Yeah, Ed?" She asked. Ed rubbed the back of his head.

"Will...you be mine?" He asked. Winry shut her eyes and smiled.

"Only if you do the same for me." She told him. Ed grinned and leaned in to kiss Winry. They did. Every time they kissed sparks flew for them both. Winry may be slightly more reluctant to show, but she loved Ed more than anything. They loved each other the same and nothing could ruin or weaken it. Ed broke it and stood up. The sun had set while they were kissing. He picked up the basket and held his hand out to Winry. She took it, but didn't let go once she was standing. They walked hand in hand back to the house. Al and Pinako had left a note on the door: _We left to visit my mother, Lori, be back tomorrow. -Pinako. P.S I took Al with me. _It was an odd note, but people sometimes had to leave on short notice. Winry was suspicious while Ed took his opportunity and dragged Winry to her room.

"All alone." Ed told her and smiled

"Until later tomorrow." She laughed. Winry shut the door behind them. _It's been too long and this is the perfect time..._They both thought it, but never said it.

The next morning,

Winry was for once the first one to wake. Winry pulled Ed's hand into her more. She felt his grip tighten around her hand as well. The blankets were up to their chests and of course their clothes had been thrown everywhere again. Winry was on her side facing the wall, her and Ed's hands were intertwined. Ed's chest was only and inch away from touching Winry's back and their hair spread around them softly. Ed's arms were wrapped around her in a protective position. Winry, knowing Ed was there now, rolled into his chest. She smiled as Ed's arms wrapped around her tighter as if hugging. She knew he was awake now.

"Ed?" Winry asked.

"Hm?" He hummed. He was half asleep, but he could still hear her.

"I...love you." She told him and rolled into him more. Ed hugged her.

"Ditto. I love you too." Ed whispered into her ear. Winry lifted her head and saw Ed's smiling face. She smiled to and they kissed. It was their good-bye kiss...until next time.

A few hours later,

Ed and Al stood at the bottom of the steps. It was around noon by now and a train was scheduled to leave at 1:20 p.m. Pinako and Winry stood on the deck.

"Bye, boys. Come back soon for dinner." Pinako yelled to them. Winry ran to Ed and hugged him.

"Promise you won't die." She told him. Ed hugged her back.

"I promise." He said. Winry smiled and let him go. Ed waved to Pinako and looked back at Winry. She was staring at the ground. Ed lifted her chin so she was looking at him. "I promised so no more crying, Winry." He told her. He kissed her once more before he left, then let her go. He patted Winry's head. "Bye, Winry." He said.

"Bye, Ed." Then Al and Ed walked to the train station.

_I promise you, Winry. I won't die anytime soon. Neither will you...as long as I'm around._


End file.
